Professor Robert MacCulloch: NZ's Productivity Growth, measured in terms of output of Olympic Medals, is Astonishing.

In the 1924 Paris Olympics, New Zealand won one bronze medal in total. It was in athletics for the 100m by Arthur Porritt. The race was later immortalized in the film, Chariots of Fire. NZ had a population of around 1 million back then. Just over 100 years later, the tally is 9 golds, 7 silvers and 2 bronzes, which after adjusting for population increase, is a huge rise.

Meanwhile the United States won 45 Golds at the 1924 Paris Olympics, a tally which has plummeted down to around 37 at the Paris 2024 Olympics. So productivity in this sphere in New Zealand, compared to other countries, is phenomenal. Why? Could it be because sport is a meritocracy where the fastest, highest, longest .. the best .. wins, regardless of other considerations? Kiwis clearly respond to merit being rewarded and produce amongst the finest output in the world when it is. Meanwhile in many other spheres in NZ, everything but meritocracy is winning the day. And productivity is paying the price.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Porritt,_Baron_Porritt
https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/paris-1924/medals

Professor Robert MacCulloch holds the Matthew S. Abel Chair of Macroeconomics at Auckland University. He has previously worked at the Reserve Bank, Oxford University, and the London School of Economics. He runs the blog Down to Earth Kiwi from where this article was sourced.