New Zealand's 'Wellbeing Budget' Approach

Abstract

This paper: (1) describes New Zealand's 2019 "Wellbeing Budget" policy and process reforms, including the "Living Standards Framework" policy analysis tool; (2) assesses the potential for New Zealand's recent budget process changes to lead to transformative policy change; and (3) assesses the extent to which the New Zealand approach can be replicated or adapted by other countries.

Background working paper/research draft for International Budget Partnership paper “New Zealand’s ‘Wellbeing Budget’: A New Model for Managing Public Finances?”. All errors, omissions, and views in this draft are mine alone and not attributable to the International Budget Partnership.

Keywords: Wellbeing, fiscal management, budget process, fiscal reform, public finance, budgeting