David joined The New Zealand Initiative as a Senior Fellow after spending three years in the Economics Department of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. Between 2003 and 2016 he worked in the New Zealand public sector, undertaking economic research and analysis for the Treasury, the Commerce Commission and the Electricity Authority.
David holds a PhD in economics from Victoria University of Wellington with a focus on policy evaluation in the areas of savings and housing.
Research Note: Rent Controls - The next mistake in housing policy (2021)
Research Note: Educational Performance and Funding in New Zealand: Are our children getting the education they deserve? (2021)
Policy Point: Minimum wages to the maximum: The risks of lifting the minimum wage (2020)
Policy Point: Misdirection on housing affordability unhelpful (2020)
Roadmap for Recovery: Briefing to the Incoming Government (2020)
Policy Point: Borrowing to Save: Retirement Income Policy after Covid-19 (2020)
Policy Point: For better or for worse - How governments respond to crisis (2020)
Policy Point: Relief measures: comparing Covid-19 wage subsidy schemes (2020)
Policy Point: Stay on Target (2020)
Policy Point: Short-time work to maintain employment (2020)
Scroll down to read the rest of David's work.
Phone: 04 494 9101
As New Zealand nears the end of the Covid-19 public health emergency, all eyes are on the economic recovery. The New Zealand Government has already indicated the post-recovery world will look quite different. Read more
Early in the pandemic crisis, the Government was quick to offer a wage subsidy scheme to help protect both employers and employees. But is this scheme still fit for purpose? Read more
Following the release of his report Short-time work to maintain employment, David Law discusses the benefits of short-time work with Kerre McIver on Newstalk ZB.
Read more
The Covid-19 outbreak will likely lead to a significant economic recession. The government's pandemic response has rightly prioritised maintaining employment and the ability of firms to recover quickly when the crisis abates. Read more
The Government’s response to the global coronavirus pandemic is expected to lead to a deep recession. Many companies are faced with laying off employees. Read more
The Covid-19 outbreak is quickly developing into an economic crisis. A top priority for the Government now is to maintain employment and ensure firms can quickly recover when the lockdown ends. Read more
The pandemic-induced recession creates a strong case for the Government to support struggling workers with targeted assistance, rather than a Universal Basic Income (UBI), according to the new policy paper Stay on Target by The New Zealand Initiative. As the Government searches for fresh and innovative ideas to prepare for the worst economic effects of shutting down the country’s commerce over four weeks, it has tentatively proposed the introduction of a universal basic income scheme. Read more
The Covid-19 outbreak is quickly developing into an economic crisis. Maintaining employment and the ability of firms to recover quickly when the crisis abates is critically important given that labour markets in several European countries are yet to fully recover from the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008. Read more
Many international institutions will be considering the economic consequences of Covid-19 and what to do about it. For three years, I worked in the Economics Department of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and contributed to the production of its Economic Outlook – a publication looking at the growth prospects and policy challenges of member countries. Read more
On this week’s New Zealand Initiative podcast, chief editor Nathan Smith speaks to career public servant David Law who is one of the newest policy researchers at the Initiative. He returns to New Zealand from spending a handful of years at the OECD in Paris, but before that David worked at the Commerce Commission, the Electricity Authority and the Treasury. Read more