Eric is the Chief Economist at The New Zealand Initiative. With the Initiative, he has worked in policy areas ranging from freshwater management to policy for earthquake preparedness, and from local government to technology policy. He has recently focused on policy related to Covid-19 response. He served as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Economics at the Department of Economics & Finance at the University of Canterbury from 2003 through 2014.
Eric’s columns and commentary appear regularly in New Zealand’s major media outlets, as well as on his blog, Offsetting Behaviour. He can also be found on Twitter at @ericcrampton .
Submission: Transforming Recycling - Container Return Scheme (2022)
Submission: Wellington Council on the Draft Economic Wellbeing Strategy (2022)
Submission: Managing exotic afforestation incentives (2022)
Submission: The market study into residential building supplies preliminary issues paper (2022)
Submission: Issues raised at the consultation conference on the Commission's market study into the retail grocery sector draft report (2021)
Submission: Resource management enabling housing supply and other matters Amendment Bill (2021)
Submission: Covid-19 public health response Amendment Bill (no 2) (2021)
Research Note: Safer arrivals and the path to 2022 (2021)
Submission: The market study into the retail grocery sector draft report (2021)
Fording the rapids: Charting a course to fresher water (2021)
Submission: Proposals for a smokefree Aotearoa 2025 action plan (2021)
Submission: Inquiry into congestion pricing in Auckland (2021)
Policy Point: A risky place to do business (2021)
Roadmap for Recovery: Briefing to the Incoming Government (2020)
Submission: Smokefree environments and regulated products Act 1990: Proposals for regulations (2021)
Democracy in the Dark (2020)
Research Note: Safe Arrivals (2020)
Policy Point: Open for minds: export education and recovery (2020)
Submission: Smokefree environments and regulated products (vaping) Amendment Bill (2020)
Policy Point: Stay on Target (2020)
Research Note: Effective Treatment: Public policy prescription for a pandemic (2020)
Policy Point: Time to process (2020)
Scroll down to read the rest of Eric's work.
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
Eric Crampton discusses Budget 2018 with Andrew Dickens. He says there are not many surprises, but he does find a few risks. Read more
The best thing about budgets in New Zealand is that they are just a little bit boring. Our fiscal conventions ensure big changes are telegraphed well in advance. Read more
There is a lot to be said for America’s federal structure. Fifty different states each trying different things not only lets policy better suit local preferences, but also helps researchers figure out the effects of different policies. Read more
Kludges are short-term fixes that can patch things over until the main problem can be addressed. If the latch for the rear hatch on your people-mover breaks, a kludge that ties it shut until you can get it to the garage for repairs is just the thing. Read more
On his regular Radio New Zealand Nights chat, Eric Crampton is taking a look at what we've learned from American Marijuana legalisation. Read more
Eric Crampton says anchor projects for the Christchurch rebuild were a terrible idea. He talks to Jim Mora on The Panel about that and the government's announcement about the Metro Sports Facility project in the city. Read more
The best thing about the National government was its focus on evaluation. Finance Minister English often reminded us a large portion of government spending was probably wasted. Read more
The International Monetary Fund has concluded its 2018 visit to New Zealand, checking with a broad range of stakeholders on how things are going here. Executive Director Oliver Hartwich and I were happy to share our views with them last week. Read more
On Tuesday, economist Eric Crampton argued that legislation to prohibit foreign property buyers will do nothing to alleviate the housing crisis. Today, he lays out all the other reasons why the ban makes no sense. Read more
There is not a shred of evidence the prohibition on foreign property buyers will alleviate the housing crisis. It is popu, argues economist Eric Crampton. Read more
The autumn storm that took out parts of Auckland’s power grid last week spared Wellington. The weather in the capital remained relatively calm – or at least no worse than any other wintry day. Read more
The biggest lesson of 20th Century economics is that it is hard to get anything right if prices are wrong. It is high time that lesson were applied to transport. Read more
New Zealand’s republicans have a point. There is a nefarious foreign influence dictating too much in New Zealand. Read more
Loyal readers of the Initiative’s work will know there are more than a few problems with New Zealand’s secondary school qualification. As Briar Lipson’s report released earlier this month showed, the system makes it rather too easy for students to be directed through ‘safe’ pathways to qualifications of little quality. Read more
If you wanted to know how well New Zealand’s education system and Kiwi students were doing, you really wouldn’t want to start with NCEA data. Getting a comparative assessment of students’ strengths was never the point of NCEA. Read more