ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Economy

New Zealand is a fairly wealthy country. Before the 1970s it relied heavily on exports to Great Britain, especially exports of agricultural products such as wool and butter. At the time they lacked a rich base of mineral resources to export to global markets. During the 1980s the country was in a serious recession. The country later transcended within its economy, from state ownership to private ownership, exercising the practice of privatization. As a result the country transformed into one of the most marketable countries in the world. The country is also apart of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Group (APEC), an organization designed to encourage economic development in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Basin. In 1982, New Zealand and Australia signed the Closer Economic Relations Agreement (CER), which slashed trade barriers between the two countries. Thus New Zealand benefited from the opening of larger Australian markets to New Zealand exports. Since the agreement, trade has expanded 10 percent each year. Today, more than 20 percent of New Zealand's imports and exports come from Australia. New Zealand also deals with major trade with the United States, the European Union, Japan, China, and South Korea. In 2005, World Bank praised New Zealand for being business-friendly country in the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_New_Zealand

http://itcu.dost.gov.ph/index.php/the-joomla-community

http://www.heritage.org/index/pdf/2013/countries/newzealand.pdf

Social Aspect

Fortunately New Zealand has high levels of social welfare as well as provides high-quality health care. The life expectancy is 80 year and the rates of child mortality have fallen since 1960. Cancer and heart disease are leading causes of death, alcoholism is a social problem in the country. Women participation in the workforce is high. Schooling is irregular for native people and post secondary education for Maoris is at 14 percent, and remains low. The Ministry of Social Development is a New Zealand government agency which has two main functions: providing social policy advice to the government, and providing social services. The social services consist of; care and protection of vulnerable children, income support, funding to community service, and student loans. It is New Zealand’s largest government department employing people in over 200 locations around the country.

http://careers.msd.govt.nz/detail.aspx?jobId=115851&CoId=210&rq=1