involved in. it also highlights the rapidly growing proportion of maori in new zealand ’ s workforce. quite spectacularly, since 2013 the maori population in new zealand has grown by 30 percent, while the number of maori in employment increased by 47 percent. however, the report also identified several challenges, with access to capital highlighted as one of the primary challenges inhibiting progress. maori customers and entities report lower rates of capital accessibility than non - maori. we are now researching the significance and root causes of the lack of access to capital. our first finding was simply the dearth of quantitative data on the topic. however, qualitative interviews with both maori capital seekers and providers suggests there are unique barriers to financial resources, which has implications for the efficiency and effectiveness of capital allocation in new zealand more generally. our work is ongoing with the publication of an issues paper on the near horizon. we are looking to identify any issues around accessing capital that may arise due to market failures, gaps in the new zealand financial system, or unintended consequences of current behaviours. international literature generally highlights that minority and indigenous people and businesses face barriers to raising capital. our own quantitative research highlights that maori are underrepresented when it comes to business ownership. in addition, this work shows that maori firms face persistently higher interest rates compared to other new zealand companies. there are parallels with other indigenous peoples due to the challenges with collectively or tribally owned land. the inability to use property as ref # x567560 v1. 17 in confidence embargoed until 11. 00pm 13 june collateral has limited the opportunities for maori to accumulate financial wealth and grow businesses. a scan of the market shows there has been little in the way of financial innovation for maori. our consultation with stakeholders has shed further light on these issues, which can be summarised across the following themes : scale and coordination ; capability ; asymmetry of information and lack of data ; myopia in decision - making and leadership ; and missing markets and products this work will help us move towards more equitable access to capital for maori. conclusion in summarising, we are late to investigating the issues and adopting a te ao maori view of our work. but we are committed and transparent in our activities and aspirations, while working within our legal mandate. embedding te ao maori in our approach and learning from the different perspectives and knowledge it brings, we will be a great team building a better central bank for new zealand. w

in price levels and inflation. finally, there have been significant influences on the level of ‘ neutral interest rates ’ globally, including ageing populations with less propensity to consume, reduced wage bargaining leverage for workers as labour mobility and product sourcing has broadened, and declining productivity growth as technologies have matured. on top of these long - term trends towards lower rates, adverse cyclical events - especially during and post the gfc - have driven many central banks to reduce interest rates to their effective lower bound ( figure 4 ) as a means to stimulate demand i. e., to continue to meet their inflation mandate. figure 4 : central bank policy rates in select advanced economies source : bloomberg. monetary policy instruments in times of record low interest rates as central banks ’ policy rates approached their effective lower bounds, they have had to find other ways to influence peoples ’ spending / saving habits, the exchange rate, the slope of yield curve, and the flow of credit through their economies. a growing number of central banks have gradually introduced a set of new monetary policy measures – that are coined as ‘ unconventional monetary policy tools ’ – to continue to meet their inflation mandate ( table 1 ). these tools came under the general headings of : negative interest rate policies ; lending operations to banks ; large scale asset purchase programmes ( otherwise known as ‘ quantitative easing ’ ) ; and forward guidance ( telling people what the central bank intends to do and for how long ). table 1 : summary of unconventional monetary policy interventions ( date of first implementation in parenthesis ) negative term lending asset purchase interest rates programmes ecb united kingdom united states japan switzerland sweden denmark canada forward guidance sources : bis ( 2019 ), unconventional monetary policy issues : a cross - country analysis, cgfs papers, no 63 ; and relevant central banks. the selection of the particular instruments was dependent on each countries ’ issues ( i. e., were they aiming to boost demand and / or manage a specific market disruption ) and their financial market structure ( e. g., what assets are on offer to purchase ). for example, the bank of international settlements ( bis ) report that around 18 asset purchase programmes were initiated by central banks between 2009 and 2016. 8 central banks bought a host of public and private sector bonds, specific agency mortgage backed securities, and other ‘ asset backed ’ securities ( table 2 ). they did so to swap central bank cash for other peoples ’ assets, thereby generating liquidity and lowering interest rates. bis ( 2019