With a deep understanding of local conditions, we tackle complex issues from multiple perspectives to deliver innovative solutions
Providing advice and forecasts in the area of energy sector investment
We provide expert advice on energy. Principal economics are experts in the field of energy economics with experience in developing and adopting economic models assessing energy issues in New Zealand.
Fundamental uncertainty in the future climate requires new ways of planning
We offer a comprehensive range of services to support our clients in navigating the complex landscape of climate change and environmental issues. Our team of experts are experienced in conducting literature reviews, policy assessments, and decision making under conditions of fundamental uncertainty
Housing depends on a range of factors, including affordability, location of jobs and preferences
Our team at Principal Economics encompass a unique combination of knowledge, experience, and skills suited for solving spatial and urban development and housing issues.
Robust economic frameworks and empirical methods, informed by evidence, shaped in collaboration with stakeholders.
We assist our clients in identifying the primary and secondary impacts of infrastructure investments.
Valuing the direct and indirect benefits and costs of tourism
We have used different data sets alongside with our tourism modelling capabilities for evaluating the impact of a range of investments and policy initiatives in the tourism sector.
Accessibility is the potential for interaction with locations dispersed over space
Our team currently lead some of the most important transport policy topics. This includes providing expert advice on transport equity, emission reduction policies and decision making under deep uncertainty.
Our innovative solutions are tailored carefully to the questions at hand
Making decisions in uncertain times needs precise understanding of the costs and benefits. We can assist by identifying fiscal, economic and wellbeing benefits from your investment decision or policy intervention.
Making decisions in uncertain times needs precise understanding of the costs and benefits. We can assist by identifying fiscal, economic and wellbeing benefits from your investment decision or policy intervention.
Making decisions in uncertain times needs precise understanding of the costs and benefits. We can assist by identifying fiscal, economic and social benefits from your investment decision or policy intervention.
In the rapidly changing global economy, it is increasingly essential to have a comprehensive understanding of macroeconomic dynamics and conduct a robust analysis of the economic environment to make informed strategic decisions.
Making decisions in uncertain times needs precise understanding of the costs and benefits. We can assist by identifying fiscal, economic and wellbeing benefits from your investment decision or policy intervention.
Making decisions in uncertain times needs precise understanding of the costs and benefits. We can assist by identifying fiscal, economic and wellbeing benefits from your investment decision or policy intervention.
In the rapidly changing global economy, it is increasingly essential to have a comprehensive understanding of macroeconomic dynamics and conduct a robust analysis of the economic environment to make informed strategic decisions.
Our team have led business cases for a range of sensitive topics.
Our consultancy services are driven by the questions of clients, informed by robust evidence, shaped in collaboration with stakeholders, rooted in multi-deciplinary approaches and guided by principles of Economics.
Our purpose, mission, and values guide our actions and aspirations. We are dedicated to driving positive change, delivering innovative solutions, and upholding the highest standards of professionalism. By adhering to these principles, we aim to make a lasting impact and contribute to the betterment of society.
At Principal Economics, we are dedicated to making a positive impact on society and delivering value to our clients through our unwavering commitment to excellence and responsible business practices. As an economics consulting firm, we recognize the importance of addressing the pressing challenges of our time and striving for inclusive growth, community engagement, diversity and inclusion, ethics and integrity, health and safety, as well as sustainability.
Exceptional People and Culture
At Principal Economics, our approach to work is driven by a commitment to excellence, collaboration, and client-centricity. We leverage our expertise, draw inspiration from industry-leading organisations, and continuously refine our practices to ensure we deliver exceptional results. Here's an overview of how we work:
Our reports offer inspiring and independent insights into various topical issues
Here we provide frontier knowledge and data collected from our latest reports and analyses
Our articles challenge the status quo by reframing current issues, sparking fresh conversations and finding new solutions
CGE modelling of ERP2
This report uses CGE modelling to estimate GDP, employment and distributional impacts of the Emissions Reduction Plan 2 (ERP2), which delineates Aotearoa New Zealand's strategy to attain its emissions reduction objectives for the 2026-2030 period, alongside setting a path towards achieving long-term emissions reduction objectives.
Aotearoa New Zealand suffers from an infrastructure deficit. Without the key infrastructure needed now for our economy to thrive, we deprive future generations from significant economic prosperity.
The Ministry for the Environment (MfE) appointed Principal Economics to review the Housing and Business Development Capacity Assessments HBAs). Our review included all councils’ HBAs, except for Rotorua and Wellington, which were not available at the time of this review.
Transportation decisions can have large and varied impacts on travellers and their communities. It’s important to measure these effects and consider their impact on various groups when planning projects.
Dunedin City Council appointed Principal Economics to provide a comprehensive assessment of the sufficiency in development capacity of business land within Dunedin to fulfils requirements of the the National Policy Statement on Urban Development
Read inspiring publications that challenge conventional thinking by reframing current issues, igniting fresh conversations, and discovering innovative solutions.
We provide a comprehensive summary of potential policy areas suitable for emissions reduction. This inludes a review of policy areas including active transport, mobility as a service, ridesharing, telework, parking pricing, road user pricing, carbon taxes and more.
This household and regional VKT dashboard showcases the power of using frontier data manipulation methods and granular IDI data
We provide an extensive review and test the factors of housing price growth in New Zealand. We assessed the level of agreement and certainty with the source of house price growth over the last fifty years.
Eilya is the Director of Principal Economics with extensive executive and consultancy experience. Eilya is experienced in managing large teams of applied researchers and has led a wide range of high-profile infrastructure projects in New Zealand.
Eugene has over a decade experience in the economics and planning consulting and is experienced in data analysis and transport and economic modelling, with specialised skills in geographic information systems (GIS), big data analysis, and is a registered Statistics IDI researcher.
Alina is experienced in data analysis and is interested in welfare, inequality and trade topics.
Ruyi is specialised in economic modelling and data analysis, with a keen interest in advancing the energy sector in New Zealand.
Phil has over a decade consulting experience in the areas of transport, planning and economics. He is experienced in data analysis and a range of modelling, with specialised skills in programming and reproducible analysis with tools such as R, Python, SQL, Git(Hub), Docker, big data.
Robert MacCulloch holds the Matthew S. Abel Chair of Macroeconomics at Auckland University. He is a native of New Zealand and working at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand before completing his PhD in Economics at Oxford University in the UK.
This article identifies and evaluates possible methodologies for estimating the capital value of New Zealand’s local road network. Local councils and central government agencies could use the findings to address the current inconsistencies in valuation approaches and enable better-informed decision-making for local road investment, maintenance, and user charges. The outputs will improve our understanding of the socio-economic and financial costs of providing and using the New Zealand transport system. The article discusses that the commonly used accounting-based valuation methods underestimate roads’ (economic) value. Suppose the purpose of a valuation is to prioritise investment. In that case, an accounting-based approach prioritises costlier road linkages instead of those with the highest economic value.
The Economic Impact of AccreditationAccreditation is a crucial part of New Zealand’s quality infrastructure. The accreditation services provided by International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) increase the confidence of New Zealand and overseas consumers to purchase products that are produced or tested by accredited organisations. In this report we provide an independent assessment of the economic impact of IANZ.
Accreditation services create an 8 percent price premium for exporters through reduced transaction costs, which leads to improved productivity and profitability. We used our extensive Computational General Equilibrium (CGE) model of the New Zealand economy and identified that IANZ’s accreditation services lead to:
Despite being one of the national priorities, there are still large gaps and no consensus from the literature on what drives house price growth and the interaction between major drivers that underpin house price growth. In our housing affordability knowledge hub, we provide:
Our review includes both the academic and grey literature. We provide a list of suggested future studies to improve our understanding of the factors of HPG in New Zealand.
Principal Economics. (2021). Drivers of House Price Growth Knowledge Hub. Retrieved from Drivers of House Price Growth – Principal Economics.
Incorporating distributional impacts (equity) into the CBA frameworkTransportation decisions can have large and varied impacts on travellers and their communities. It’s important to measure these effects and consider their impact on various groups when planning projects.
Waka Kotahi uses a framework to decide which transport projects and programmes to pursue. The economic business case must contain a cost–benefit analysis (CBA). CBAs assess the economics of a proposal by valuing (monetising) the costs and benefits to all members of society. However, CBAs sum across a wide range of people and don’t calculate inequities between groups or individuals, or who ultimately benefits from the project.
Transport equity discussions focus on social justice. Equity impact analysis helps policymakers to make good decisions for a wide range of people. Distributional impact analysis needs to be complemented with wider investment and planning considerations. This includes any comprehensive policy framework that accounts for the overlapping effects of transport, housing and taxing policies.
Torshizian, E., Byett, A., Isack, E., Fehling, A., & Maralani M. (2022). Incorporating distributional impacts in the cost–benefit appraisal framework (Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency research report 700).
Reforms to the resource management systemOur report examines the expected costs and benefits of the reforms. Changes are currently articulated mainly as broad principles and high-level descriptions of the institutional arrangements. Much of the detail is still to be developed, and the benefits of the reforms will depend on the physical outcomes that result, eg how much will pollutant emissions reduce, housing affordability improve, or Māori engagement increase?
The report focuses on understanding the nature of costs and benefits under the different domains and how these are expected to change at the margin, eg whether increased environmental quality will yield positive net benefits. We provide an indication of the potential for benefits in different domains. The realisation of these potential benefits is dependent on the final design and implementation of the reforms.