His experience in both countries has convinced him that New Zealand’s most logical path to wealth is to build a savings culture.
And that means compulsory KiwiSaver has to happen, he says.
An RNZ-Reid Research poll this week found that more than 70% of New Zealanders now support compulsory KiwiSaver.
With National, NZ First and Opportunity all running with compulsion as a policy in this election, Hong is hopeful that it might finally happen.
He’s also hopeful that the Labour Party will get on board, making the move bipartisan.
Gen Z economist Leonard Hong
It was Australia’s Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating who introduced compulsory savings there in 1992.
With more than $5 trillion under management, the Australian Super scheme is the fourth largest in the world.
“What Keating did was not just about liberalisation,” Hong says.
“I know there are people who tend to be neoclassical economists who say, ‘Oh, this is just free markets’.
“No, Keating looked at it as a conjunction, like a macroeconomic strategy. He knew that Australia had a current account deficit problem. They had a low household income and savings problem. They had a productivity problem. They also had a demographic problem.”
When you look at it with a 30-year horizon, the case is compelling, Hong says.
“Australia got so rich after that period because of this, because of the depth of the capital markets.”
Hong acknowledges the “paternalistic” adjustment that’s required.
It’s one that doesn’t sit well with many free market advocates – including the Act Party.
“But is the price worth it? I think it is based on what my friends are telling me, who all jump ship to Melbourne and Sydney.”
Hong is back in New Zealand and studying again – at Auckland University under Professor Robert MacCulloch.
Despite plenty of opportunities to expand his career internationally, he is passionate about New Zealand.
Hong is of Korean heritage.
His family came here after the 1998 Asian financial crisis.
“I feel 75% Kiwi and about 25% Korean, that’s sort of how I describe it,” he says.
He’s been back to Korea and says he definitely feels more at home here.
“I like the fact that we have a wellbeing approach. I’m quite thankful that I’m a Kiwi first and foremost.”
Hong says his generation is anxious about the future.
“I think a lot of them are sort of anxious as a result of AI affecting the labour market in a way that’s probably unprecedented.
“But I also think that they tend to be quite risk-seeking. So a lot of my successful friends around the world, they’re going to the United States, going to Singapore, going to Sydney, Melbourne.
“We still see this continuous drive to sort of better thyself, which is fantastic. But at the same time I think compared to the older generation we do have it a little bit tougher.”
“We have this multitude of demographic issues; fiscally, we have this multitude of problems in terms of asset and wealth development.
“So we need a new angle and we’re all figuring it out as we go along. That’s the sort of vibe that I get.”
Listen to the full episode for the full conversation.
The Economy of Everything is available on the iHeart app or wherever you get your podcasts.
The series is hosted by Liam Dann, business editor-at-large and Tamsyn Parker, business editor for the NZ Herald. Thanks to CMC Markets.