In early-2020 the risks to the global economic outlook were heavily skewed in a downward direction. Governments deliberately restricted economic and social activity to control the spread of COVID-19, and people acted to protect their personal health first and foremost.
New Zealand faced a material threat of experiencing a prolonged period of below-target consumer price inflation, and employment levels well below any estimate of a maximum sustainable level. ____________ Christian Hawkesby (2021, 21 September). Speech: A least regrets approach to uncertainty: Hawks, Doves and the White Heron (he Kōtuku).