Sacred cows hold back UK recovery
Click image for larger view.
Read more
1 March, 2013
Travel Diary 3 - Luke Malpass in Essen, Germany
28 February, 2013
Media release: Dinner with John Howard
Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard will be the keynote speaker at the The New Zealand Initiative’s annual retreat dinner in Auckland on 21 March. Mr Howard will speak about ‘Trans-Tasman Relations in the Pacific Century.’ “My talk will focus on some of the joint opportunities and challenges before Australia and New Zealand in a regional economy dominated by the continued development of China and many other Asian economies,” says Mr Howard Dr Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative, says John Howard’s talk will be educational, inspiring, and enlightening. Read more
25 February, 2013
British planning and us
I am currently on a research trip studying local government and housing affordability in different jurisdictions around the world. This week, I have been in and around London conducting interviews and meetings. Read more
22 February, 2013
Puzzles, mazes, and praises
Here are three riddles for you. For solutions, read on. Read more
22 February, 2013
Who owns the road?
The battle between motorists and cyclists never ends. Motorists think cyclists are pests and shouldn’t be allowed to ride on the roads because they block the way and are accidents waiting to happen. Read more
22 February, 2013
Stop whingeing and get back to work
Click image for larger view.
Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich
22 February, 2013
Travel Diary 2 - Luke Malpass in London
Research Fellow, Luke Malpass, talks from cold London about his 'Housing Affordability' project and the lessons that can be learnt from the United Kingdom. Read more
21 February, 2013
Four-year fixed terms? Bring it on!
Prime Minister John Key wants to change a constitutional settlement that has lasted 173 years. He proposes to extend parliamentary terms to four years, with a fixed election date at the end. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich
15 February, 2013
Three years is more than enough
When it comes to parliamentary term lengths and etiquette, my colleague and boss Dr Oliver Hartwich is sadly misguided. The arguments for four- (or five-) year fixed parliamentary term can be summed up as stability, predictability and giving government time to implement its agenda. Read more
15 February, 2013
Shocking your system - reverse culture shock in New Zealand
When I landed on home soil in New Zealand two weeks ago having spent the past six months in Japan, I got on the wrong end of the bus by boarding through the back door and forgot to pay my bus fare. In Japan, you pay at the end. Read more
15 February, 2013
Manufacturing 'crisis' is three years late
Click image for larger view.
Read more
15 February, 2013
Travel Diary 1 - Luke Malpass
14 February, 2013
Brutal data on a Western debt march
Talk about the looming global currency war obscures an unpleasant reality: monetary policy remains the West’s only weapon to prevent imminent insolvency. Unfortunately, the medicine may kill the patient, rather than the disease. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich
13 February, 2013
Media release: Tales from Absurdistan
The New Zealand Initiative will be hosting one of Germany’s top economists on 13 February to talk about the lessons from bad policy making. Germany is Europe’s model economy. Read more
11 February, 2013