Finance Minister Bill English hopes to gauge the impact of the ending of stimulus programs on New Zealand and other small economies when he attends the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, next week.

English, who became Finance Minister in 2008, has never previously attended the annual meeting, which attracts around 3, 000 political, business and economic leaders from around the world.

"The forum will provide me with an opportunity to better understand the global risks to New Zealand's positive economic outlook," English said in a statement Thursday.

"I'm particularly interested in discussions about returning to what many call 'natural growth', as economies exit from large monetary and fiscal stimulus programs," he said.

"The unwinding of these stimulus programs by large economies will certainly have an impact on small open economies like New Zealand's."

The meeting will run from Jan. 22 to 25 under the theme "The Reshaping of the World: Consequences for Society, Politics and Business." Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)