Oh, the perils of the silly season. If your office is typical, you’re in a mad dash trying to finish everything that needs to be done before Christmas. Read more
In a series of articles earlier this year, we introduced Insights readers to some basic ideas from the wonderful world of economics. Today, we are releasing the compilation of pieces in a short pamphlet, The ABC of Economic Literacy. Read more
For anyone who has used Uber, knows someone who has used it, or is aware it exists, the crowd consensus seems to be that it is pretty great. Uber, which recently entered the New Zealand market, is an app that offers an alternative to taxis by allowing users to order a driver to get them to their destination for a set price. Read more
Only until a couple of years ago, it would have been unthinkable to suggest that New Zealand could hold some policy lessons for Australia, let alone that it could be seen as a model that Australia might wish to emulate. Australians had become used to regarding New Zealanders as their poorer cousins. Read more
When you publish a report with the title Poverty of Wealth: Why minerals need to be part of the rural economy, it is best to prepare yourself for some strong responses to your work, and to quickly grow a thick skin. Feedback from green groups, politicians, officials, and the online communities who populate the comments sections of various websites are all obvious sources of critical feedback. Read more
Wellington (3 December 2014): Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative, Dr Oliver Hartwich, is today publishing his new monograph Quiet Achievers: The New Zealand Path to Reform. It will be presented by Australia’s Minister for Finance, Senator the Hon. Read more
Do today’s politicians have the courage to make hard choices? Or has the furious pace of modern politics put an end to the age of reform? Read more
This report, the first in a two-part series, seeks to examine the factors that prevent greater mineral extraction in New Zealand, a business model that could help stem some of the economic pressures faced by many of the country's rural regions. The key findings of Poverty of Wealth are that: Rural New Zealand is in decline Economic growth is concentrated in urban areas, particularly Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, whereas seven of the rural regions recorded negative economic growth in the year ending March 2013, and a further two recorded flat growth. Read more
America got a little bit crazier this week. I’m not talking about the Ferguson riots, round two, which make me ever-grateful that New Zealand maintains an unarmed constabulary. Read more
“A change-over from an increasing to a declining population may be very disastrous,” John Maynard Keynes once reflected. This may be so, but a declining working-age population could prove even worse. Read more
Sitting in one of New Zealand’s urban centres, it is tempting to look across the various data points and conclude that all is well with the country. Yes, dairy and log prices have pared back substantially over recent months, but almost every other economic indicator is improving, holding its own, or lingering below warning levels, as in the case of inflation. Read more
Demographic aspects Projections of an ageing population are robust on the basis of current trends: New Zealanders' 2010 median age of 35.8 years lifts to 43.0 years by 2060 under Statistics New Zealand's medium scenario projections. The number of dependent persons (under 15 or over 64) per 100 people of working age (15-64) is projected to rise by 44% from 50 in 2010 to 72 in 2060. Read more
There are many emotions that Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler is likely to provoke, depending on the state of your bank account, but sympathy for this modern Beowulf is hardly the first choice. Yet that is exactly what I felt for the technocrat last week when he announced that he was thinking about delving deeper into his economic toolbox in the hopes of finding a gizmo that could zap more heat out of the housing market. Read more
It was always going to be a bittersweet victory: whoever won the Labour leadership battle would immediately be thrust into the war of winning back voters. And boy has Andrew Little been thrust into a war: the Labour Party has faced a stunning defeat domestically, within the wider context of an international left-wing demise. Read more
A spending spree after an unexpected Christmas bonus is something we can all understand. Maybe it isn’t the best way of planning your finances, but it isn’t going to really do any harm. Read more