Potential flagged for young economist

Brad Olsen is studying and working part-time in Wellington for one of the country's leading economic forecasting agencies.

He's busy, motivated and community-minded. He's been named one of the finest young leaders in the Commonwealth and had the privilege of meeting the Queen last year as a result of the accolade. Whangarei's Brad Olsen is going places.

The 20-year-old has just begun the third of a four-year BCom/BA degree at Victoria University in Wellington, majoring in public policy, economics, international relations, and political science.

He is working part-time with Infometrics as an economist. He hopes to complete his academic studies by December 2018.

Mr Olsen says he has always been committed to working with and for the community in some way, and has continued to do so since his shift to Wellington.

The 2016 Queen's Young Leader Award recipient is currently a youth councillor with the Wellington City Youth Council, a member of Victoria University's academic board, deputy executive director of Commonwealth Youth New Zealand (a not-for-profit youth group) and serves on the US-NZ Youth Council with the US Embassy in Wellington.

He has had a major focus on economics in a professional capacity since high school, and it remains his work focus to learn more about economics and how it shapes the world.

"In the medium term, I see myself continuing with economics in the professional world," the former Whangarei Boys' High School student said.

Infometrics provides businesses and public organisations, including councils, with access to up-to-date economic information so they can make robust, evidenced-based decisions, he says.

It provides Northland regional and district councils with quarterly and annual reports plus economic analysis on proposed projects.

Mr Olsen says he has had the fortune of being able to look into the finer details of health spending, national education spending, and the regional education sector in Northland.

Infometrics has just released its Quarterly Economic Monitor for the December 2016 quarter and Mr Olsen says the provisional estimate of GDP for Northland shows solid growth over the December 2016 year, growing 3.2 per cent.

"The dairy payout has recovered from the previous season, a relief to farmers, with the total dairy payout for the region expected to be around $540m for the current 16-17 season, higher than the 15-16 payout of $353 million for Northland.

"House prices have risen significantly in the region, up 22 per cent from their December 2015 level, which has also pushed up rental costs.

"Tourism continues to be an important earner for the North, with 2016 seeing $1 billion of tourist spending.

Mr Olsen says Northland's building sector is also strong, with a 43 per cent increase in residential consents in the December quarter.

"However, pressure is growing in the building sector, meaning we're needing more skilled and unskilled building workers sooner rather than later. Whangarei and Kaipara continue to be attractive housing markets for those from outside the region, in part buoying the 3.0 per cent GDP growth in Whangarei," Mr Olsen said.

Mr Olsen received his Queen's Young Leader award at Buckingham Palace from the monarch herself in 2016, the day the Brexit referendum result was announced.