Modern economics certainly works in strange ways. "Quake and related jobs helps crank up economy", I read a week ago in my newspaper. This relayed a jargon-ridden study ("drivers", "solutions" et al) by something clumsily entitled The Grow Wellington Quarterly Economic Monitoring Report, about the new zip in the capital's economy through earthquake-induced building strengthening.
In fact, much of this work is not strengthening. My company owns the most Wellington CBD buildings and has spent about $15 million so far, in accord with the new rules, on building weakening. It's about balancing buildings' structural elements rather than necessarily strengthening them. The rest has mainly gone on bracketing the adequately strong beams and columns together.
Similarly, we constantly read of the economic boost to New Zealand, and also the Government's election prospects, from the Christchurch rebuild. It recalls the story my generation repeatedly heard from our depression traumatised parents about the unemployed being paid to dig ditches while others filled them in. I suspect this was a fable but the principle is similar.
In the past we viewed increasing prosperity as a result of greater productivity, but no longer. Today, full employment is everything even if that means more dog groomers, personal trainers and grief counsellors. If the Christchurch rebuild boom makes sense then we should buy an old bomber and have the air force flatten several towns and cities each year, having first ensured their inhabitants got out of town. Great wealth would presumably flow. Some such as Kaikohe and Westport we wouldn't rebuild, thereby saving on the welfare budget as their inhabitants moved to places of employment.
The possibilities are endless.