BERL Chief Economist Dr Ganesh Nana was last night featured on TVNZ documentary series ‘Use as Directed’ – a user’s guide to the modern world. The episode investigated the cost of raising a child in New Zealand and compared the costs associated with newborn babies, five year olds and teenagers, with the latter found to be the most expensive.

Every year there are 60,000 new consumers born in New Zealand and a recent study conducted by the Inland Revenue Department concluded that the average cost of raising a single child until the age of 18 in New Zealand, is approximately a quarter of a million dollars, or about $280 a week. As this is an average figure this means some parents are spending substantially more than that per child.

Questioned whether one would have children based on Economics, Ganesh believes that “if you looked at the cost then there would be no kids in the world, and that would really be a miserable world”. Dr Nana shares his thoughts on the subject from the perspective of both a father and an economist and believes that when considering the cost of raising children—particularly in relation to health and education--we should not focus on saving costs, but rather how to get the best value from what we spend. To view the documentary in full, click here.