Billions of dollars could be added to farmers’ profits if they focused more on pasture renewal, a new study reveals.

The Pasture Renewal Charitable Trust this week suggested a switch in focus from animal improvements to pasture development was required to increase farm productivity.

The trust commissioned Wellington-based company BERL (Business and Economic Research Ltd) to complete an economic analysis of the value of pasture to New Zealand’s economy.

 The lead author of the Berl report on the social costs of alcohol says the criticisms of it are unfair and misplaced.

Adrian Slack says Berl was only commissioned by the Ministry of Health and ACC to look at the social costs and not the benefits of alcohol, and would have needed an additional $135,000 were it to extend its remit to examining the benefits and policy implications.

From Wednesday, July 1, the government will raise the excise duty on all spirits by at least 2.8%.

The tax hike comes as the Law Commission is mulling its recommendations on raising the excise tax further in a report due at the end of the year.

The Law Commission appears to be using as its base for policy recommendations a controversial study into the social costs of alcohol undertaken by Wellington economics group Berl for ACC and the Ministry of Health.

Two economists have come out swinging in their analysis of a BERL report used as the basis of the Law Commission’s review of alcohol.

Independent economic researchers Berl have put the cost of New Zealand's inflation targeting policy at 95,000 jobs over the next three years.

There are currently 92,200 officially unemployed as at March 2008.

NBR market analyst Michael Coote says that such a rise in unemployment will have a multiplier effect.

Independent economic researchers Berl are putting the cost of New Zealand's inflation targeting policy at 95,000 jobs over the next three years.

Acknowledging the figure was based on a "cursory analysis", Berl said it would be the equivalent of about $7.4 billion of gross domestic product.

Berl senior economist Ganesh Nana said that, looked at another way, that was nearly the equivalent of the entire agriculture sector's annual contribution to GDP.