NZ has third highest material living standard
Stuff reports:
New Zealand families have the third-highest material living standard in the world, a local study has found.
Researchers at public policy research institute Motu used data from 800,000 households across 40 countries to create the new measure for wellbeing, which took into account homes that included a 15-year-old.
The measure is based on ownership of possessions such as books, internet connections, whiteware and cars, as well as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in a house.
These are measures that actually matter to families – far more than whether the guy down the road has an even better car.
The top 10 are:
- USA
- Canada
- NZ
- Australia
- Liechenstein
- Luxembourg
- Ireland
- Norway
- Sweden
- Italy
They did look at inequality also. NZ was in 20th out of 40 countries.
Motu senior fellow Dr Arthur Grimes said the results should call into question the widespread negative impression of living standards in New Zealand compared with other developed countries.
“Our results show New Zealand is still a great place to bring up children, at least in material terms.
“Not only do we have wonderful natural amenities, but contrary to what GDP statistics tell us, most Kiwi families have a high standard of material wellbeing relative to our international peers.”
A great place to live in, NZ is.