Te rangahau o te tuakiri Māori me ngā waiaro ā-pūtea - Background, theoretical orientation and first-wave response rates

How does cultural identity matter for Māori economic decision-making? Te Rangahau o Te Tuakiri Māori me Ngā Waiaro ā-Pūtea | The Māori Identity and Financial Attitudes Study (MIFAS) aims to address this question. The MIFAS is the first large-scale (n = 7,019) nationwide study of Māori aged 18 and over that aims to correlate personal cultural beliefs and practices to economic choices. This article describes the theoretical underpinnings of the MIFAS in identity economics and explains the process by which we have used Western methods and methodology to explicate the relationship between Māori identity and economic activity. It also provides preliminary response rate data and discusses the representativeness of the MIFAS data set in comparison with data gathered by the 2006 and 2013 New Zealand Censuses and Te Kupenga 2013.