A latent state of emergency has become Europe’s new normal. Even professional optimists such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel believe that the euro crisis will be with the continent for at least another five years. Read more
Lesley Longstone, the secretary and chief executive of the Ministry of Education, says New Zealand cannot claim to possess a world-class education system. Strangely, Hekia Parata, Minister of Education said the very opposite just last week. Read more
Even so, New Zealand has its share of proponents of fiscal stimulus in the form of $900 cheques that former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd posted to 75% of working-age Australians in 2009. Australian Treasury Secretary Ken Henry said the stimulus of A$10 billion was all about ‘go hard, go early, go households’. Read more
When political announcements consist of motherhood statements that nobody could possibly disagree with, they often make little sense. Or at least they don’t tell us anything new. Read more
How would you feel if you suddenly discovered that you were much wealthier than you thought? Well great, obviously. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director at The New Zealand Initiative, interviews Initiative@home guest speaker, Dr Christian Sandström, Researcher at The Ratio Institute in Sweden, on his views on the Swedish economy. Read more
If New Zealand were anywhere other than right next to Australia, our current rates of economic growth, unemployment and proximity to developing global markets would be the envy of the world. As it is, comparisons with Australia are not always useful. Read more
Around 50 years ago, the newly independent Finland identified education as a key nation-building exercise. Ever since, Finland’s public school system has been of interest to other countries. Read more
George Mason University’s Mercatus Center is a top public policy think tank based in Virginia near Washington, DC. Some of its 2012 publications might be of interest to readers of Insights: a 28-page blueprint for regulatory reform in the United States (the blueprint could be easily applied to New Zealand). Read more
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On Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets to decry the government’s austerity policies. Trade union leaders called for an end to budget cuts and privatisation. Read more
It's hard for supporters when salaries trump team loyalties. As I was watching Wellington Phoenix beat Sydney FC 2-0, I wasn’t sure which was stranger: seeing legendary Italian striker Alessandro Del Piero play football in New Zealand, or supporting a team dressed in black and yellow? Read more
Dr Christian Sandström will talk in Wellington on 24 October, on Sweden’s economic position and whether the country really has a socialist economy. With taxes and labour market regulation the only exceptions, Sweden is today in many regards a capitalist economy. Read more
The story has been going on for so long that it is hard to imagine daily news without Kim Dotcom. Ever since the controversial internet entrepreneur’s arrest on his Auckland estate, which is as oversized as his personality, the Dotcom saga has fluctuated between spy story, political scandal, and soap opera. Read more