David Hargreaves

background

I came from Palmerston North to Victoria University. I started a law degree, but decided economics was a more interesting field. I felt like a break from study after three years, and managed to land a job as a technical assistant at the Reserve Bank. This was basically like a summer student, but for a year rather than for three months.

personal interests, goals

I'm a bit of a generalist. When I'm not central banking, I'm often in a Wellington café or theatre, reading something from the Wellington public library, or riding my bike in the Wellington hills. I also have a bit of a travel bug (and have had to ask nicely for a bit of leave without pay once or twice).

I think most of my career drive comes from a genuine interest in the policy process and a desire to learn more and be involved. Rather than setting specific goals, I think I just keep doing that as best I can.

what attracted you to the Bank?

The Bank seemed like a good place to use economics and to learn more. I was worried it might be a bit stuffy and boring but I was surprised to find how fast-paced the work was and how friendly everyone was.

experience/achievements at the Bank

After my first year, I returned to Victoria to do my honours year. I found my experiences at the bank helped put the honours course into context, and I'm sure I did better than I would have without the work experience. I came back and worked for two years as an analyst working with FPS (our macroeconomic model) and looking at issues like New Zealand's current account. Around the time of the Asian economic crisis, the Bank realised they needed specialist international analysts, and I spent about 18 further months working as an analyst looking at the outlook for the world economy, and some interesting policy issues like whether New Zealand should form a currency union with Australia.

By that stage, I was interested in doing some further study. I considered doing a doctorate, but settled on a shorter Masters programme at the London School of Economics. The Bank helped me make this happen by giving me leave without pay for the required period, and some financial assistance. It was a great year, and again I felt I learned a lot in the programme because I had seen many of the issues before from the policy side.

what have you enjoyed/found satisfying or challenging?

Because the Bank is so small compared to international equivalents, you get to deal with a very broad range of issues, and this greatly increases the opportunities for learning. It also means you get remarkable access to the decision-makers. New staff can expect to present research at the Monetary Policy Committee during their first year at the Bank.

future aspirations

My current position involves looking after a small team that administers our macroeconomic model and uses it to produce projections and policy research. I'm expecting to find that challenging for a fair while. Many senior staff at the Bank have benefited from spending periods working in other macro-policy agencies like the IMF or OECD, and I'd like to spend time doing something like that in the future.

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