In this interview Catherine Connolly talks to Tim Ng, who was the Chief Economic Advisor and a Deputy Secretary at the New Zealand Treasury until early 2021. Tim is currently on sabbatical leave from his main role at the Treasury, and will return to it in early 2022.

Tim discusses the success and challenges of New Zealand’s ‘go hard, go early’ response to Covid-19, how wellbeing objectives are shaping Treasury policy advice, and the interaction between housing market conditions and monetary and financial stability policy in New Zealand. Tim also discusses the growth of the Asia-Pacific region and what it means for New Zealand’s trade, tourism and environment.

In his role as Chief Economic Advisor, Tim was responsible for ensuring that the Treasury’s policy advice on raising New Zealand living standards is supported and strengthened by sound economic theory and evidence.

Prior to joining the Treasury, Tim managed various functions at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, including domestic and international economic monitoring and forecasting, analysis of monetary policy conduct, banking regulation and payments system policy.

Tim has also worked as an economist at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland and at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.