But postderegulation adjustment to international norms isn't enough of an explanation. The difference between  BIS Review 6/2002  7  New Zealand and most other developed countries is that we do not have as many assets as householders in other developed countries do. Basically, we have borrowed to finance consumption or relatively unproductive investments.
That’s roughly a tenth of what a family just within the top 20% is getting. These income differences play out in the amount of debt households can take out and the interest rates they pay. When the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) moves the repurchase rate (or repo rate), households immediately see the difference in their mortgage payments or their car payments.