Press Release - The Charles & Agnes Kazarian Foundation

What New Zealand’s Extraordinary Financial Track Record Can Teach the World: 6 Numbers to Know

Washington, DC, USA, 6 July 2020: The Kazarian Center for Public Financial Management (KCPFM) today commenced a public education campaign titled “What New Zealand’s Extraordinary Financial Track Record Can Teach the World: 6 Numbers to Know”. New Zealand’s extraordinary financial track record can teach the world how to advance solid financial security and greater prosperity for all people.

The public education campaign will sponsor one billion media impressions between July 2020 and July 2021. Over 20 digital media outlets are part of the campaign, including Barron’s, BBC, Bloomberg, Der Spiegel, Financial News, FT, Handelsblatt, National Business Review (NZ), NYT, NZ Herald, Politico, Times (UK), and WSJ.  Educating the public and other key stakeholders on how to improve public financial management is a core mission and core competency of KCPFM.

New Zealand’s extraordinary government financial track record is a tribute to both their citizens and their world leading culture of public financial management. At the same time, New Zealand has achieved top rankings on the most widely recognized quality of institutions and quality of life indices.

The public education campaign compares New Zealand and five AAA-rated countries on three of the most important government financial performance indicators over the past nine years (2011 to 2019). Below are the 6 numbers to know:

#1 Indicator: New Zealand’s Citizens’ Wealth 1 (CW1) increased $8,000 per person and the AAA composite declined $8,000.
#2 Indicator: New Zealand’s Total Government Net Worth increased $5,000 per person and the AAA composite declined $4,000.
#3 Indicator: New Zealand’s Total Government Net Worth as a percentage of GDP increased 10 percentage points, and the AAA composite declined 5 percentage points.

New Zealand combines an extraordinary government financial track record with world class performance on the World Bank key governance indicators on institutional strength, ranking significantly better than the average of sovereigns with equivalent or higher credit ratings. In addition, New Zealand ranks seventh in the world on Legatum’s Prosperity Index, which includes, among other factors, education, health, personal well-being, and quality of life.

“Teaching public financial management through one billion media impressions will advance greater prosperity for all”, stated Paul B. Kazarian from KCPFM.

To learn more on how lessons from New Zealand can improve public financial management, see kazarianfoundation.org/NZPFM which includes additional information and FAQ. Also see the slide presentations from the New Zealand’s Public Finance Act at 30: Lessons, Achievements and Future Directions conference website, especially presentations by Ian Ball, Ruth Richardson, Ken Warren, Struan Little, and Paul B. Kazarian.

KCPFM is an initiative of the Charles & Agnes Kazarian Foundation (Kazarian Foundation) which is a philanthropic affiliate of Japonica Partners. The Kazarian Foundation’s core mission and core competency is to improve public financial management and financial literacy. The Kazarian Foundation seeks to educate both citizens and key stakeholders on the importance of public financial management and financial literacy through conferences, presentations, communications, articles, master classes, and white papers. Find public financial management educational material at kazarianfoundation.org.

Contact: Christopher Magarian at info@kazarianfoundation.org or Stacy Dimakakos, Public Worldwide stacy@publicworldwide.com.

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