Story: Balance of payments

Robert Muldoon and his overseas loans

Robert Muldoon and his overseas loans

Six years after raising concerns about the level of New Zealand’s borrowing, Robert Muldoon was depicted in a cartoon sitting on a house of cards representing later loans. Like many New Zealand ministers of finance, Muldoon had realised that the only way to obtain capital for necessary investment without reducing spending at home and raising the level of domestic savings was to borrow from abroad.

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Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: A-311-4-021
Cartoon by Bob Brockie

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

C. John McDermott and Rishab Sethi, 'Balance of payments - Other perspectives on the current account', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/cartoon/23962/robert-muldoon-and-his-overseas-loans (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by C. John McDermott and Rishab Sethi, published 11 Mar 2010