Is there anything worse than a politician who does not understand economics? The answer is a politician who mistakenly thinks he does. Read more
Eric Crampton joins MagicTalk’s Wilhelmina Shrimpton to weigh up the ACT Party’s tax policy. The pair discuss the high cost of living, bracket creep, and the types of poor-value government spending that could be abolished to allow tax cuts. Read more
“We made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.” It’s a cliché from old gangster movies. Either side can just walk away from normal business negotiations if a deal is not in their mutual interest. Read more
US President Herbert Hoover once stated, “Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.” Right now, young people have a reason to be concerned. Since Covid-19 arrived 18 months ago, New Zealand’s net public debt has nearly doubled. Read more
The Prime Minister started the week looking ahead to the New Year. “It can’t always be Covid,” Ardern said in an interview on Monday. Read more
Festivus comes but once a year – December 23rd. Observants of the holiday popularised in a decades-old episode of Seinfeld raise the aluminium pole of celebration and air their grievances. Read more
Oliver Hartwich joins Ben Craven to discuss the government’s proposal for social unemployment insurance, and the lessons New Zealand should heed from Germany’s experience with social security. To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
On Newstalk ZB, Mike Hosking reviews and reads out parts of Oliver Hartwich's article in the NZ Herald on social insurance lessons from Germany. In the article, Oliver says New Zealanders who have never worked abroad may not appreciate just how much Europeans contribute to their various insurance schemes. Read more
Is there anyone who could be against something as positive sounding as ‘Social Unemployment Insurance’? Social Unemployment Insurance, a scheme the Government is currently developing, evokes compassion and a desire to help those in need. Read more
Eric Crampton discusses supermarkets, antitrust and how government and council rules have made it hard for new entrants to join the NZ market on Radio NZ Nights, hosted by Bryan Crump.
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Distance was supposed to be dead. The first dot-com boom promised an end to distance’s tyranny. Read more
In all the excitement over the new ‘Traffic Light System’ and National’s new leader, a big story went almost unnoticed last week. According to the Herald, the Government is about to complete its proposals for unemployment insurance. Read more
Central bank independence matters. The grand bargain struck between governments and their central banks, coming out of the turmoil of the 1970s, and led by New Zealand in the late 1980s, was simple. Read more
Celebrations this week for Delta Airlines, Delta Electronics, Delta-Fly Pharma Inc and Delta Goodrem as – finally – a new variant of COVID sweeps the world. But spare a thought for the staff at Omicron Inversiones, an investment company in Spain. Read more
Our Chairman and Senior Fellow Roger Partridge joins Ben Craven to discuss the Initiative's latest education research and what can be done to reverse Kiwi students' poor literacy results. To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more