Central banks should err on the side of caution given the turbulence of the economic cycle, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s Geoff Bascand said on December 7.

“When in doubt, a bias towards prudence is probably a good thing,” the outgoing deputy governor said in a speech reflecting on his eight years at the central bank.

Bascand said “smooth sailing” was “relatively rare” for the economy, especially as New Zealand is a “small boat on a turbulent global sea”. He said the “single most important