Reflections on the origins of my ideas

May, 2020

I was asked by a researcher exploring the changes in public sector policies over the past few decades in NZ about the origins of my ideas on economic policies, public sector policies, and the commercial world, including references to family influences, educational background, the role of mentors, and the development of one’s views. These notes were the product of that request.

Full paper (PDF format 241KB)


Virtuoso Strings Orchestra & Jonathan Lemalu Concert

February 22, 2020

The Deane Endowment Trust is a sponsor of the Virtuoso Strings Orchestra in Porirua and has also been a sponsor of the now internationally acclaimed New Zealand bass Jonathan Lemalu. Jonathan lives in London but is the Patron of Virtuoso Strings. At Porirua in February 2020 Jonathan performed with the full Orchestra of school children. The orchestra was created and is managed by the wonderful Liz Sneyd and Craig Utting. Craig wrote some of the pieces performed. The arena was packed. The audience was enthusiastic. This is a speech I gave on this marvellous occasion.

Full paper (PDF format 81KB)


Speech at wedding of Emma Law and Marc Chilton

February 1, 2020

Emma and Marc married in Wellington on 1 February 2020. They are a hugely talented couple, as I hope the speech makes clear. I was honoured to be asked to speak at the wedding. It was a lovely occasion at Shed 5 on the Wellington waterfront.

Full paper (PDF format 128KB)


Australian Garden History Society Conference – two speeches by Gillian Deane

October 6, 2019

Gillian, Lady Deane gave a presentation at the Annual Conference of the Australian Garden History Society held in October 2019 at Te Papa Tongarewa, the Museum of NZ, the first occasion on which the Society’s conference had been held outside Australia. She spoke about her large native tree and wetland garden which had originally been a series of cow paddocks. In particular she drew on the striking similarities between many of the paintings and drawings of NZ native plants and flowers by Sarah Featon, published in the 1880s, and the plants in Gillian’s own garden today. Gillian was also asked to provide a summing up of the Conference. The links to the two speeches are below.

Full paper (PDF format 67KB)
THEN and NOW. A love story of NZ flora over time (PDF format 9MB)
Youtube Video


The New Zealand Economy – A Set of Charts

April 2016

These charts provide a comprehensive survey of many aspects of the New Zealand economy over time. They are based on an earlier set prepared in February 2015 for use in a number of addresses and presentations by Sir Roderick Deane. Those charts were an updated and extended version of earlier charts. The current updating was again carried out by Susanna McLaren. About half the charts were updated but in the remaining cases changes in time series or inaccessibility of data prevented updating at this time. The updates were prepared by Susanna in early 2016. Sir Roderick is most appreciative of her able assistance.

Full paper (PDF format 3.3MB)


Lost in the Regulatory Maze

November 2015

These charts comprised background material for an address to a NZ Initiative meeting in Wellington on 10 November 2015. The presentation acknowledged that there is much work going on in New Zealand with respect to regulation but most of it is about process and not enough about fundamentals, to say nothing of the now disconcerting array of unintended consequences of widespread and pervasive regulation.
For example:

The challenge is how does New Zealand provide for an appropriate economic framework for regulation but not end up with an overload of unintended consequences as we have at present.
I was Chairman of three of NZ’s largest companies (Fletchers, ANZ Bank, Telecom) for many years, and via the NZ Seed Fund helped create a range of small companies (two listed today).
Regulation and lack of knowledge by regulators across all those activities was frequently challenging and costly in terms of both time and money, often to no avail at the end of the day.
We are beset with much regulation which is a serious inhibition on improved productivity growth. Better regulatory processes can help but what is really needed is a major review of the economic fundamentals underlying regulation and a vastly improved understanding of the commercial world by regulators.

Full paper (PDF format 702KB)


Reflections on the New Zealand Economy

April 2015

These charts and text overheads were prepared as background for an address by Sir Roderick Deane to a group of post graduate executives at The Business School at the University of Auckland on 18 April 2015. The matters covered included the economic growth story of the NZ economy and the accompanying explanatory factors such as the terms of trade and domestic productivity growth; the degree to which the range of economic objectives such as low inflation and low unemployment had been achieved; the roles of monetary and fiscal policy in this context; the fluctuations in world prices and exports; the external accounts and overseas debt; the changes in government expenditure and its major components including staff numbers and pay rates; tax rates; some infrastructure matters; the regulatory dilemmas faced by the commercial world; and an assessment of which government economic policies have delivered and which warrant further improvement, sometimes considerable improvement. In preparing the material for the session, the author drew upon the chart work undertaken by Susanna McLaren and he is very grateful to Susanna for the excellence of that work. A number of charts were also drawn from the NZ Treasury web site.

Full paper (PDF format 1.7MB)


NZ Government Economic Policy – Scorecard

March 2015

These brief notes summarize those areas where the Government’s economic policy has been successful and outlines those policies which have not been so well developed or executed including some areas where policy has been inadequate as viewed from an economic perspective. The notes were background information for an address at a NZ Initiative conference in March 2015.

Full paper (PDF format 303KB)


Lessons from the New Zealand Seed Fund

February 2015

This paper was written by Scott Fletcher to summarize the history of the New Zealand Seed Fund, to describe the underlying scientific research work, and to draw some lessons from the Fund's experience. Two listed companies resulted from the initiatives of the Seed Fund: Pacific Edge Ltd in New Zealand and Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd in Australia. These companies originated from research work at the Universities of Otago and Auckland respectively. The Seed Fund was a special partnership formed in 2000 and closed in 2014.

Scott has done an excellent job in collating the historical background by reviewing all the records and interviewing many of the leading players. He then draws some lessons from the experience of the Seed Fund. Sir Roderick Deane was Chairman of the Seed Fund throughout its life. The other directors were Peter Menzies and Trevor Scott. The Manager and Secretary was Christopher Swan. Scott's research took place under the auspices of a Victoria University of Wellington Summer Scholarship.

Full paper (PDF format 521KB)


Charts on the New Zealand Economy

February 2015

These charts address a range of matters relevant to the NZ economy including economic growth, productivity, the labour market, the external accounts, exports, investment, consumption, monetary policy, fiscal policy, government expenditure and its components, tax rates, overseas and government debt, and some data with respect to particular industries.

The charts were prepared by Susanna McLaren. They were updated and adapted from earlier versions used by Sir Roderick Deane in a number of speeches. Susanna benefitted from a Victoria University of Wellington Summer Scholarship during the summer of 2014-15.

The project was supervised by Associate Professors Jane Bryson and Urs Daellenbach, of the VUW School of Management, and Sir Roderick Deane. The charts were completed in February 2015. Interested readers should feel free to make use of the charts.

Full paper (PDF format 2.6MB)


Speech at New Plymouth Boys High School

18 August 2014

This is a copy of a speech to the staff, visitors and 1250 boys at Sir Roderick Deane’s old school, New Plymouth Boys High, on the occasion of the school giving him their highest award, that of the Alumni Merita Award. The speech sketches the way in which the school was a major turning point in his life and offers some lessons learnt from a diverse and stimulating career across a wide range of activities.

Full paper (PDF format 49KB)


50th Wedding Anniversary

January 11, 2014

On 11 January 2014, Gillian and I had been married for 50 years. We had a lovely party and we were delighted that many family members and friends attended. I made a speech, much of it about Gillian. It tells how I really feel about her.

Full paper (PDF format 152KB)


Governance: Myths and Reality

14 Nov 2013

Good corporate governance is a complex art, not easily given to the intrusive regulatory frameworks directors now face. The more extensive the regulations, the more demanding is the compliance, the more onerous are the regulatory liabilities, and the more risk averse directors may become.

The converse of this situation is that companies face an increasingly competitive and rapidly changing commercial world where success invariably demands more risk taking, not less. The trick for directors is how to navigate successfully through this myriad of challenges.

The speech draws upon Sir Roderick Deane's extensive experience as a former Chairman of several of NZ's largest companies, Fletchers, Telecom and the ANZ National Bank; as a CEO of two of the country's largest companies, Telecom and ECNZ; as President of one of NZ's major voluntary welfare organizations, the IHC; as a Director of several substantial overseas companies, in both Australia and Canada: and as a former Head of the NZ State Services. He was also Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of NZ during the extensive economic reform period of the 1980's and was earlier a member of the executive board of the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC.

Full paper (PDF format 122KB)


Economic policy: radical uncertainty or strategic vision?

20 Sep 2012

These overheads summarize comments to the Miro Summit, held under the auspices of The NZ Initiative at the Formosa Resort 20-21 September 2012. The slides set out comments from the Prime Minister on how he views the role of government in NZ and then look at an economist's view of the role of government in establishing a vision for the country, and regulations to deliver on this, versus the role of markets in determining the all-important contribution of the private sector to productivity improvements and economic growth. The presentation made the case for less intrusive and pervasive regulation and for a more vigorous private sector able more readily to get on with the job of growing incomes and employment. The issue is not about how government can regulate for growth but rather about the need for strong monetary and fiscal policies along with minimal interference in the ability of the private sector to generate economic growth.

Full paper (PDF format 352KB)


Observations on Foreign Direct Investment in New Zealand

20 Sep 2012

These overheads were background material for a presentation to the Miro Summit held under the auspices of The NZ Initiative at the Formosa Resort 20-21 September 2012. The presentation covered the fact that the criteria for foreign investment in NZ are among the most restrictive in the world despite the economic benefits of overseas investment and the substantial and ongoing NZ need for capital inflows given the country's ongoing external deficits. The presentation made the case for removing or at least significantly easing these restrictions. Economics tells us that the legislative framework for foreign investment need be no different to that for domestic investment.

Full paper (PDF format 991KB)


Some Reflections on Corporate Governance

7 Sep 2012

Speech to the 75th Anniversary Dinner of Chartered Secretaries New Zealand at the Wellington Club on 7 September 2012.

This speech reflected on the 75 years of CSNZ and its role in promoting strong governance and administration in the business world. Attention was drawn to the strength of the economy from the late 1980's to the early 2000's, followed by a period when fiscal surpluses turned to deficits, overseas debt grew rapidly, productivity growth slowed sharply, and regulatory intrusions again became widespread and pervasively costly for the business world.

The ironies of this was illustrated by some contradictory outcomes.

The lesson from history is not that we should be free of regulation but rather that we should be extremely careful what we wish for. Government intervention in private sector activities, ostensibly to ameliorate problems, invariably results in the creation a whole new set of further challenges.

We require much larger doses of commonsense and much more rigorous testing of regulatory changes before we pursue them.

Good governance is thus not just about good regulation. It is much more about high professional standards and strong integrity around the board table. It is about achieving the right balance between the interests of customers, staff, the community and shareholders.
Full paper (PDF format 105KB)


The Strangulation of Regulation: how do we deal to the New Zealand virus ?

8 Aug 2012

The attached charts were background material for an address at the Wellington Club entitled "The Strangulation of Regulation: how do we deal to the New Zealand virus ?" It was presented on 8 August 2012. The address concentrated on the multiple dilemmas facing New Zealand: the size and burden of Government; the severe magnitude of the overseas debt; the slow growth rate of productivity; the crowding out of the private sector by the government; the erosion of the capital market; the overwrought nature of corporate governance regulation; the challenge of high house prices and declining home ownership; and the revisitation of Government sponsored Think Big projects as illustrated by the telecommunications industry.

Some proposals for easing these dilemmas were advanced including a range of possible solutions to the present severe regulatory overload and the need for substantially improved management and control of the public sector in order to facilitate space for the resumption of stronger productivity growth in the private sector.
Full paper (PDF format 2.6MB)


The Economic State of the Nation, 2011

17 Feb 2011

This latest set of my charts on the New Zealand Economy 2011 were prepared for a presentation to a group of company CEO's and Chairmen at a New Zealand Business Roundtable Retreat held at Formosa, Beachlands, Auckland on 17-18 February 2011.
The presentation sketched the progress of the NZ economy over recent decades with respect to the story of:

  1. Fluctuating rates of economic growth, and how NZ has been a poor performer relative to the rest of the world;
  2. How inflation has been tamed but may re-emerge as a concern;
  3. How unemployment is higher than it should be or needs to be;
  4. The role of commodity prices and the terms of trade in this story;
  5. The major concern about the way in which the rate of productivity growth has slowed dramatically since 2000. This followed the post reform years 1988-2000 when NZ recorded what was easily its best period of productivity growth for many decades and at a rate which ranked it highly by western world international standards;
  6. The irony of the fact that the industry with the fastest growth of productivity was communications, which has now become one of the heaviest regulated industries in NZ.
  7. The risks around the persistent external current account deficits and the now huge overseas debt (relative to GDP), which ranks us alongside countries such as Greece, Spain, Portugal and Iceland;
  8. The squeeze on the traded sector by the non-traded sector;
  9. The now large Government fiscal deficit and the rapidly accumulating public debt, despite the favourable position on these fronts until around the mid-2000's.
  10. The massive rise in central and local government spending, from having been about 35% of GDP to now 45%, and the associated huge increase in the number of civil servants and how they are paid on average much more than employees in the private sector;
  11. The staggering rise in invalid and sickness benefits, vastly outstripping unemployment benefit numbers (are we really this sick ?);
  12. How NZ tax rates, which became highly competitive relative to other OECD countries after the 1980's economic reforms, are now no longer competitive;
  13. How inadequate NZ's performance has been relative to that of Australia where even the poorest state, Tasmania, has a much higher income per head than NZ;
  14. The burden for industry of high tax rates and heavy duty pervasive bureaucratically administered regulatory structures;
  15. The range of worry zones for economic policy makers and our seeming unwillingness or inability really to get to grips with these (charts 42 to 44 summarise a few illustrations);
  16. Some illustrations of the opportunities NZ needs to embrace in industries such as minerals, dairy, education, and tourism;
  17. A summary of the Prime Minister's set of announcements for changes in economic policy 2011 and later;
  18. And, finally, a summary of the changes needed to economic policy if NZ is to get back on track to faster rates of economic growth.

In particular, the presentation advocated the case for lower taxes, smaller government, less intrusive regulation, privatisation of state owned enterprises, stronger protection for property rights, a closer economic relationship with Australia, and a deeper understanding of the growth opportunities in China, India and South East Asia.
Full paper (PDF format 3.5MB)


The New Zealand Economy: Challenges and Opportunities

9 Sept 2010

These charts are background material for an address to the Dunes Symposium, a Public Policy Forum for Tomorrow's Business Leaders, held on 9-10 September 2010 at Formosa, Beachlands, Auckland. The Symposium was organised by the New Zealand Business Roundtable.
The charts cover such matters as New Zealand's economic growth and productivity performance over time and relative to other countries; the constraints in the form of the external deficit, the growing overseas debt, the pressures from the size of the government sector again looming large, and the emergence in recent years of fiscal deficits; the challenges facing NZ such as in the form of a decline in tax competitiveness, pervasive and costly regulatory controls, and an inadequate capital market; offset by opportunities in industries such as diary, minerals, tourism and education.
In summary, the charts show that in the post reform period (1988-2000) NZ demonstrated that it could grow faster than in any previous comparable period and indeed that its rate of increase in multifactor productivity growth was among the best in the developed world. But then there was an erosion of those gains as the Government sector grew much faster than private sector between 2000 and 2009, the fiscal surplus turned into a deficit, regulations again became widespread and constraining and the global financial crisis added to the country's woes. In essence, NZ has not yet been able to address fully the big policy challenges such as those relating to taxes and the rate of increase in government spending, particularly in social welfare, health and education, the inadequate infrastructure sector, and the heavy duty regulatory environment. The present Government is conscious of these matters and is gradually addressing them but often only in a cautious way. Thus, over recent years, the private sector has been getting crowded out. Yet that is the real source of growth and productivity gains.
Full paper (PDF format 292KB)


The NZBR ........... Myths and Legends

9 Sept 2010

Some notes for a brief address by Dr Roderick Deane to the Dunes Symposium: A Public Policy Forum for Tomorrow's Business Leaders, 9 September 2010, Formosa, Beachlands, Auckland.
Full paper (PDF format 13KB)


Value for Money Review of the NZDF, Dr Roderick Deane & Greg Kay

Aug 2010

This review was carried out at the request of the New Zealand Government to assess the extent to which Value for Money (VfM) savings could be achieved by the NZ Defence Force (NZDF) to facilitate meeting the financial requirements of the defence strategy contained in the Defence Assessment of July 2010 and the Defence White Paper 2010.
Based on numerous interviews, extensive analysis and benchmarking set out in the report, the conclusion of the review is that "it will be possible to close the gap between the NZDF's projected operating expenditure (including depreciation) and expected Defence Appropriations and at least to meet the Defence Assessment's "middle pathway". Generating the savings and the efficiency gains to enable this to happen will not be easy. But with a culture change within the NZDF, organisational and personnel changes and determined leadership, it is achievable. Other organisations have clearly demonstrated this. The NZDF has shown repeatedly at the front line that in VfM terms it can foot it with the best. It needs to transfer these same skills and determination to the back and middle of the organisation. When this happens, the NZDF will be able to say that it is as good at the business of Defence as it is at the operational and military elements of Defence." The report sets out the changes necessary to deliver the improvements both in terms of culture and organisational aspects as well as the magnitude and likely timing of the projected savings.
Full paper (PDF format 8484KB)


Speech at farewell function as Chairman of Fletcher Building - Te Papa Wellington

17 Mar 2010

Full paper (PDF format 84KB)


Speech at farewell function as Chairman of Fletcher Building - Auckland Museum

16 Mar 2010

Full paper (PDF format 52KB)


Dunedin speech on occasion of the centenary of Fletcher Building

10 Nov 2009

Full paper (PDF format 80KB)


A Health Check on the Economy: How Does it Measure UP?

2 Sept 2009

Background material for an address to the NZ Retailers Association at Sky City Auckland on 2 September 2009.
Full paper (PDF format 410KB)


Business Hall of Fame speech

29 July 2009

This speech was prepared for the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame ceremony on 29 July 2009 when Dr Deane was made a Laureate of the Hall of Fame. It pays a warm tribute to the numerous people who helped his career.

The talk also emphasizes the need for young people:

Full paper (PDF format 67KB)


Governance Complexities in Crown Entities

2 Mar 2009

These overheads provided some background notes prepared by Dr Roderick Deane for a discussion with the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) Strategy Group on 9 March 2009 in Wellington. The notes concluded that what matters most in the management of Crown Entities is strong leadership, the maintenance of high integrity, clear objectives and sound strategies to achieve them, good process compliance, the engagement of quality people, excellent communication, and an absence of handwringing or indecisiveness.
Full paper (PDF format 56KB)


Treasury Guest Lecture - The Complex Art of Governance

20 Sep 2007

Dr Roderick Deane spoke about the complex art of Governance discussing governance; corporate stakeholders; the board's role; board of governance; CEO/Management's role; corporate organization; new US law; conflict resolution; corporate change and building a business.
Full paper (PDF format 106KB)


The State of the Nation - An Economic Overview of New Zealand

1 May 2007

This speech reviews the progress of the New Zealand economy from the point of view of an economist and policymaker turned businessman. There has been a disconcerting halving of the rate of productivity growth in NZ since 2000 compared with the 1990's, a huge increase in the number of public servants (compared to earlier declines) and a massive increase in the regulatory burden on the private sector. This presentation reflects on the way in which these trends are inter-related and how the business world views these matters, as seen through the eyes of a former senior public official (Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of NZ and Chairman of the State Services Commission during an earlier period of economic reform) and leading businessman (Chairman for a lengthy period of three of NZ's four largest companies). The presentation has been made to a variety of audiences ranging across fund managers, corporate CEO's, professional associations, and Government officials. It comprises on this web site two documents: a summary explanatory text and a substantial series of charts.

Summary text
1 May 2007.
Full paper (PDF format 31KB)

An Economic Overview of New Zealand
1 May 2007.
Full paper (PDF format 601KB)


Notes on the Merger of the ANZ(NZ) Bank and the National Bank of NZ

May 2007

The merger of the ANZ(NZ) Bank and the National Bank of NZ was the largest merger in NZ corporate history. It promised sizeable synergies and considerable benefits for customers and shareholders of ANZ but in the early stages of the merger the gains from the improved efficiencies were very substantially eroded by the hugely costly new prudential controls put in place with minimal notice by the Reserve Bank of NZ. Despite the burden of these changes, which have now adversely impacted all banks in NZ, the merger grew to be very successful in terms of customer and market share retention; proof that a dual brand strategy at the retail level could be effective; and now pleasing growth earnings and shareholder value.These notes summarize some of these points as made in a lecture using the merger as a case study....
Full paper (PDF format 27KB)


IRD Seminar on Corporate Restructuring and Governance

May 2007

Fletcher Challenge Group was for many years the largest company in New Zealand and, after a period of strong growth, was subject to stresses and strains through the late 1980's and 1990's such that eventually, in 2000-01, the largest corporate restructuring exercise in NZ commercial history needed to be undertaken. These lecture notes use the company as a case study of the vision which underpinned the creation of the FCL Group, summarize some of the governance principles which emerged as important, and outlines the analysis and operational steps which were required to put the company back on a sound basis. These involved some of the largest transactions executed in NZ and the creation of new listed vehicles including particularly the now highly successful Fletcher Building Ltd. This lecture was originally part of the course work for the MBA at VUW but has been used in other forums as well...
Full paper (PDF format 260KB)


Book Review - Being Accountable: Voluntary Organisations, Government Departments and Contracted Social Services in New Zealand

February 12, 2007

This paper is a review of Jo Cribb's excellent research piece on this sector. Despite the great complications faced by many clients of voluntary organizations, and the pressing demands of their immediate caregivers, the research found conclusively and with startling clarity that the relationship with Government was "the most difficult and obstructive" of all the accountability relationships and was very much "a hindrance rather than an aid". Even more worrying, contracting and funding agreements with government agencies were seen to be "driving down standards of care". This was attributed to poorly designed programmes, irrelevant measures, and a piecemeal approach to service provision. Jo's conclusions have much relevance to the business world more generally. The increasingly centralized and bureaucratic control of New Zealand society, and the need for leaders in sectors as diverse as those of private sector business and voluntary organizations to spend so much of their time negotiating with officials and being accountable to them, despite the latter?s remoteness from the clients of the sectors they oversee, is one of the major changes which have occurred in New Zealand over recent years.
Full paper (PDF format 24KB)


Wedding speech by Dr Roderick Deane in proposing a toast to the bride and groom, Sandra Martinovich & Jonathan Lemalu

19 August, 2006

Full paper (PDF format 68KB)


Telecommunications Review Interview

David Dickens, July 2006 (PDF format 40KB)

This interview was conducted around the time Deane resigned as Chairman of Telecom Corporation of NZ Ltd in protest at the what he saw as an unnecessarily intrusive regulatory regime for Telecom, one which not only seriously and adversely impacted shareholder value for Telecom's shareholders but also is likely to be ultimately deleterious for the industry as a whole. The interview surveys the gamut of issues facing Telecom at that time and some of the issues which were receiving much political and media attention.
Full paper (PDF format 40KB)


Regulation - How Backward Can We Get? With an emphasis on the Electricity Sector

28 September 2005

The hugely important electricity sector in New Zealand has been subject to numerous regulatory changes over the years and remains both extensively regulated and heavily owned by central Government. This has resulted in numerous conflicts of interest and competing and often irreconcilable objectives. The risks around the industry in terms of potential shortfalls in generation and transmission outages remain substantial, as events have proven but to which the policy response has been severely inadequate. The industry is an illustration of the dilemmas being imposed on other parts of the business world whether it be the costly banking prudential regulation or the misguided telecommunications interventions or the now abandoned Kyoto carbon tax regime (30 months of negotiation between many companies and numerous government officials only to fall over completely in 2006). All of these have imposed huge costs on the corporate world without any gains being as yet apparent.
Full paper (PDF format 192KB)


A Single Economic Market for Australia and New Zealand

There has been much discussion of harmonization of the Australian and New Zealand economies but progress has been painfully slow and the issues addresses often minor. There has been a lack of vision, political commitment and leadership. These notes of a speech to the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum advocate a much more radical approach, emphasizing the need to tackle the big issues and suggesting that they are typically remarkably similar to the issues New Zealand still needs to address with respect to domestic economic matters. Many of the issues centre around the need to allow markets, domestic or cross border, to do their job more effectively and for governments to be less controlling in their approach to the business world.

NZ Institute of Management
12 May 2005.
Full paper (PDF format 44KB)

Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum
April 2005.
Full paper (PDF format 44KB)


The Complex Art of Governance

29 November 2004

Corporate governance is a highly fashionable topic but one where some basic propositions are of critical importance regardless of the regulatory regime imposed by governments. These include clear and agreed goals, appropriate separation of governance functions, a balance of incentives and sanctions, good disclosure, strong personal relationships, a culture with an emphasis on integrity, and a willingness and determination to address problems as they arise. While these types of considerations form the underpinnings of good governance, it is a myth to think that they can simply be regulated into practice. Indeed the risk is that excessive regulatory attention will simply lead to risk averse behaviour by listed companies and the creation of new markets which avoid the costly burden of such interventions, as amply confirmed by the rapid but unsurprising expansion in private equity activity over recent years.
Full paper (PDF format 24KB)


New Zealand Listener - Tribute to Reg Deane

4 Sep 2004

Roderick Deane, Telecom Chairman, pays tribute to his Father, Reginald (Reg) Roderick Deane general manager of the Wairarapa Electric Power Board and president of the Electrical Supply Authorities.
Full paper (PDF format 466KB)


Advanced Corporate Management

The following five papers were presented to MBA classes in Advanced Corporate Management in the MBA programme at Victoria University of Wellington. Roderick Deane was Professor of Economics and Management from 2000 to 2003.

Advanced Corporate Management - Overview
MBA programme, Victoria University, 2003

The Advanced Corporate Management course offered in the MBA programme encompassed issues of shareholder value creation, corporate governance, offshore investing, venture capital, public versus private ownership, and the role of market places. These notes outline briefly the topics encompassed under these headings, some of which are developed further in other papers on this web site.
Full paper (PDF format 16KB)

Advanced Corporate Management - Public vs Private Enterprise
MBA programme, Victoria University, 2003

Despite the overwhelming empirical evidence from the history of Government ownership of commercial enterprises in New Zealand to demonstrate the numerous conflicts of interest and drag on taxpayer funding, there are many New Zealanders who believe in the efficacy of public rather than private ownership. These lecture notes outline the issues, which need to be considered in weighing the relative merits of the alternative forms of ownership. The problems for State Owned Enterprises (SOE's) are not just those of multiple objectives but of plural principals. Private enterprise typically has better defined objectives and more clearly specified owners to whom they are accountable. They do not carry the hidden costs of implicit official subsidies to SOE's. The market forces them to adapt to economic realities more rapidly than their public counterparts. Politics and social judgements muddy the waters around SOE's. The notes sketch the points made under various approaches: that of welfare maximization, political economy, and transactions costs. The latter argument for privatisation is a powerful one when it becomes apparent that SOEs are poor agents for taxpayers and creditors, when a wider set of reforms is being undertaken (commercialise, deregulate, privatise), when the ability to intervene is no longer seen as a virtue, and when SOE-type redistributions are seen as either too costly or too invisible.
Full paper (PDF format 36KB)

Advanced Corporate Management - The Investor's Perspective
MBA programme, Victoria University, 2003

These notes background issues for investors in relation to asset classes and returns, portfolio management, the role of mutual funds, the merits of indexation, and some lessons to be drawn from a study of investing markets and their history. For example, it is clear that top performing sectors rapidly change, staying the distance pays off, absence from the market carries penalties, top performing funds change rankings rapidly, fads or following the crowd can be dangerous, and there is a need to emphasize diversification and the critical importance of portfolio allocation and persistence. The notes point out that the overall market explains about 85% of the total return of most investors and funds, past performance has very little predictive ability, asset allocation explains 90% of differences in total returns, a substantial majority of funds managers fail to beat the stock market index (after allowing for fees and taxes in funds), and top performing funds are invariably not top performing for very long.
Full paper (PDF format 20KB)

Advanced Corporate Management - Competition and Market Behaviour
MBA programme, Victoria University, 2003

This lecture reviewed the role of the market system, what it does, the roles of the various market participants, the scope of the economists' so-called neo-classical model, market incentives, market behaviour, market failures, co-ordination within firms, and the role of the internet.
Full paper (PDF format 20KB)

Advanced Corporate Management - Shareholder Value Creation
MBA programme, Victoria University, 2003

This lecture reviewed a number of aspects of shareholder value creation including its measurement, the complexities involved in this, the concept of economic value added (known as EVA), corporate goal setting, the need for alignment of interests between boards and management teams, and some New Zealand market issues and challenges in delivering improved performance for shareholders.
Full paper (PDF format 20KB)


Globalisation and constitutional development

Building the Constitution conference, April 7-8 2000

The paper argues that globalization is not of itself a threat to national sovereignty; that the rule of law is of fundamental importance; that property rights and their enforcement are crucial; and that freedom is only preserved if powers to tax, take and regulate are suitably constrained in order to limit the size of government in society. Comment is offered on the electoral system, republicanism, the Treaty of Waitangi, and related matters. Conclusions are drawn that what really matters in this debate is not that the constitutional arrangements are broken and need fixing but rather that some fundamental principles need to be reasserted. These include the need for the business and the wider community to promote respect for the rule of law, well-protected property rights, sanctity of contracts, and a less intrusive, flexible and adaptable government.
Full paper (PDF format 80KB)


Victoria University of Wellington Graduation Speech

15 April, 1999

Speech by Dr Roderick Deane to the graduation ceremony for Victoria University of Wellington graduands on the occasion of him receiving an honorary doctorate of laws.
Full paper (PDF format 20KB)


People, Power And Politics

October 1995

Economic Theory works. That is the thesis of this address, but it is a thesis built upon the belief that economic progress if there is the right leadership of people; if the power of ideas is free to emerge; and if there is a sufficiently strong political will to facilitate the durable implementation of those ideas. In a sense, the address is thus about the interaction of people, power and politics in contributing to the processes of economic change in New Zealand, and the lessons which can be drawn from that process.

This Discussion Paper No. 39, published by the NZIER, formed an address to the Annual General Meeting of the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research in Wellington in October 1995 subsequent to Dr Deane receiving the inaugural NZIER Economics Award in 1994.
Full paper (PDF format 2MB)


Prudential Supervision of the Banking System

August 1992

Prudential Supervision of the Banking System edited by Bernard Galvin, is a collection of papers from a seminar held under the auspices of the Institute of Policy Studies of Victoria University of Wellington at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Wellington, on Tuesday 25 August 1992.

The issue of prudential surveillance of the financial system, usually by the central bank, has attracted considerable attention in recent times. This reflects in part the failures or near failures of financial institutions that have occurred in a number of countries in the Western world.
Full paper (PDF format 756KB)


List of Publications covering the period when Dr Deane was a professional economist and up to 1995


Download file (PDF format 189KB)

Controlling Officers Report

May, 1987

Farewell speech by Donald Hunn (who was to become Chairman and then Commissioner of the SSC) as a Controlling Officers Report on R S Deane on his departure from the position of Chairman of the Sate Services Commission in May 1987. Ostensibly signed off by G Deane.
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Reserve Bank of NZ Research Papers

During his period at the Reserve Bank of NZ, Sir Roderick Deane prepared or co-authored a significant number of Research Papers some of which have been digitalized by the Bank. These papers relate primarily to the period when he headed the Research Group which developed the first macroeconometric model of the NZ economy. Later, he was Chief Economist and then Deputy Governor of the Bank.

Towards a model of the New Zealand economy (1971), Roderick Deane, RBNZ Research Paper 1
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A model of the New Zealand monetary sector (1971), Roderick Deane and Mark Lumsden, RBNZ Research Paper 2
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New data for economic research (1972), David Grindell, Mark Lumsden and Roderick Deane, RBNZ Research Paper 3
Full paper (PDF format 1.3MB)

An econometric approach to forecasting New Zealand's imports (1972), Mark Lumsden and Roderick Deane, RBNZ Research Paper 5
Full paper (PDF format 1.2MB)

Consumption equations for New Zealand : tests of some alternative hypotheses (1972), David Giles and Roderick Deane, RBNZ Research Paper 6
Full paper (PDF format 1.7MB)

Quarterly taxation relationships for New Zealand (1972), Roderick Deane and David Grindell, RBNZ Research Paper 7
Full paper (PDF format 883KB)

A New Zealand model : structure, policy uses and some simulation results (1972), Roderick Deane, RBNZ Research Paper 8
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Papers on monetary policy, credit creation, economic objectives and the Reserve Bank (1972), Roderick Deane, RBNZ Research Paper 9
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Financial asset behaviour and government financing transactions in New Zealand (1973), David Grindell, Roderick Deane and Anthony Fenwick, RBNZ Research Paper 11
Full paper (PDF format 1.9MB)

Interest rate policy : a New Zealand quandary (1975), Roderick Deane, RBNZ Research Paper 17
Full paper (PDF format 924KB)

An economic policy dilemma : the case of foreign investment in New Zealand (1974), Roderick Deane, RBNZ Research Paper 18
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International monetary reform : content and perspective (1976), Roderick Deane, RBNZ Research Paper 21
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Essays on fiscal policy and taxation reform (1981), Roderick Deane and Bruce White, RBNZ Research Paper 34
Full paper (PDF format 886KB)

Some issues of balance of payments policy (1982), Bruce D White and Roderick Deane, Research Paper 35
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Financial sector policy reform : the case of New Zealand (1985), Roderick Deane, RBNZ Discussion Paper G85/3
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