Dr Hartwich's top ten
1. Don’t like capitalism? Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich
28 October, 2016
Feel good goals from the United Nations
This week the United Nations named Wonder Woman honorary ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls. Apparently she “will be tasked with raising awareness about Goal 5 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals”. Read more
Dr Bryce Wilkinson
28 October, 2016
Beehive's campervan blind spot
If the mystification around the low local election turnout was not strong enough a signal that officials just do not get local government, the latest freedom camper rules review should amp it up. The government is anticipating a deluge of freedom campers over the summer and at next year’s British and Irish Lions tour. Read more
Jason Krupp
28 October, 2016
Hon. Hekia Parata: Amid the mortar we offer a bouquet
Science has it that you are more likely to remember the minute details of losing money, losing friends, and receiving criticism than you are about winning money, making friends, and receiving praise. This may explain recent editorial furore and media commentaries recounting all the failures of the Minister of Education, Hekia Parata, following her announcement that she will not be contesting in the 2017 elections. Read more
28 October, 2016
Public funding for a boxing match
Economist Eric Crampton is appalled by the suggestion that there be any government money put into Joseph Parker's next fight. He joins the panel to express his digust on the matter. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton
26 October, 2016
A fishing tale from British Columbia
John Steinbeck once said that any man who pits his intelligence against a fish and loses had it coming. While a novice fisher might find this saying humorous, a veteran likely won’t, since much can be said about the challenges of fishing for sport. Read more
Dr Randall Bess
21 October, 2016
A forest of inequality
If income inequality is not rising in New Zealand, but enough voters think it is, do inequality concerns still matter? This week The New Zealand Initiative released The Inequality Paradox: Why inequality matters even though it has barely changed. Read more
21 October, 2016
Do we need a tertiary transformation?
Equipping today’s students with the skills needed for tomorrow’s jobs is perhaps the 21st century’s greatest challenge. But how confident are we that our tertiary education sector can innovate to meet the future needs of students? Read more
Roger Partridge
21 October, 2016
Exposing the inequality scam
The public is constantly told income inequality is rising and the government should do something. A recent NZ Listener article asserted inequality had risen faster “in recent years” than in almost any other developed country. Read more
Dr Bryce Wilkinson
21 October, 2016
The Inequality Paradox: Why inequality Matters Even Though it has Barely Changed
There is an inequality paradox in New Zealand. Despite increasingly frequent newspaper headlines on inequality, the data shows that inequality in income and inequality in consumption have not changed substantially for at least a decade. Read more
Dr Bryce Wilkinson
18 October, 2016
Media release: Housing crisis the root of inequality
Wellington (18 October 2016): New Zealand’s inequality crisis is actually a housing crisis, a new report by The New Zealand Initiative says. Launched today, ‘The Inequality Paradox: Why inequality matters even though it has barely changed’ finds that too many New Zealanders are suffering real hardship, and this is largely due to very high housing costs. Read more
18 October, 2016
Jenesa Jeram discusses the Initiative's new report on inequality
Co-author Jenesa Jeram discusses the Initiative's new report, The Inequality Paradox: Why inequality matters even though it has barely changed There is an inequality paradox in New Zealand. Despite increasingly frequent newspaper headlines on inequality, the data shows that inequality in income and inequality in consumption have not changed substantially for at least a decade. Read more
18 October, 2016
Online Voting Not Fixed for Turnouts
Later this week the official results of the local body elections will be released, but even before the first vote was cast many were predicting who the biggest loser would be: local democracy. It looks like that prediction is paying off. Read more
Jason Krupp
14 October, 2016
Why the unitary plan is soiled
In George Orwell’s dystopian novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, the tyrannical state develops an artificial language called Newspeak to align thought and action with the ideology of the Party. Its aim is to entrench the tyranny of the Party by making other modes of thought impossible. Read more
Roger Partridge
14 October, 2016
Safety cheese
Thomas Hobbes told us the State is necessary to protect us. The war of all against all that would ensue without a State to protect us from each other would be worse than even a terrible despot. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton
14 October, 2016