Characteristics of New Zealand’s Current Economic Expansion  i)  The expansion has taken place in a difficult global economic climate  Global economic growth in 2015 and 2016 is around 3 percent – the weakest since 2009 and below its long-term average of 3¾ percent, despite unprecedented global monetary stimulus and a major decline in oil prices.
Global trade, normally a catalyst for the global economy, remains weak. Merchandise trade growth over the past five years has been the slowest since the early 1980s, and protectionist measures in G20 countries and elsewhere are on the rise. Economies are grappling with the spillovers from unconventional monetary policies and heightened political uncertainty has also been making households and businesses more cautious.