Accounting for the economic effects of the 2010/11 Canterbury earthquakes in New Zealand's national accounts

This paper shows how Statistics NZ has accounted for the economic effects of the 2010/11 Canterbury earthquakes in New Zealand’s national accounts.

The measurement implications of the economic transactions are reflected in the national accounts statistics, which are made available in:

National Accounts (Income and Expenditure): Year ended March 2012 (publication date 21 November 2012)
Gross Domestic Product: September 2012 quarter (publication date 21 December 2012).

This paper will be of interest to economists, policy analysts, forecasters, statisticians, and tertiary students, who are already familiar with the national accounts and interested in understanding the technical detail outlined here.

The paper covers:

Challenges of measuring economic implications of significant disaster

Background to the New Zealand system of national accounts

Transactions that show the effects of the Canterbury earthquakes:

Non-life insurance flows and policy holder outlays
Dwelling services
Earthquake support packages
Donations
Purchase of red zone properties by government.

Accounting for the economic effects of the 2010/11 Canterbury earthquakes in New Zealand's national accounts (PDF, 17 pages, 424kb)