You searched Opinion and Media for "" and got 1017 results
The New Zealand economy is undoubtedly in good shape but not all the factors behind the boom can or should be sustained indefinitely. This raises two questions: How much is temporary? Read more
It is often said that tax is the price we pay for a civilised society. Indeed, taxes are necessary to fund key public services, including defence, law and order, the courts, border controls, civil defence, foreign affairs, public administration generally, and a contestably lengthy list of other potentially worthy activities of a collective nature. Read more
On Tuesday, I spoke at a conference organised by our sponsor, PortfolioConstruction Forum. The audience were mainly Australian and New Zealand investment advisors and wealth managers and my topic was the state of their respective economies. Read more
Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a contentious subject and there is no limit to the number of debates questioning the efficacy of inwards FDI to the economy. However, the link between investment, FDI and economic growth is well-established. Read more
In debating, speakers are not rewarded for having a superior argument per se. They are rewarded for convincing the audience that they do. Read more
The New Zealand Initiative’s latest report, Capital Doldrums: How globalisation is bypassing New Zealand, was released late last week. The report shows that while our domestic economy rapidly integrated with the rest of the world between the mid-1980s and 1990s, inwards foreign direct investment (FDI) stocks have since stagnated relative to GDP (albeit at quite a high point). Read more
Last week the New Zealand Productivity Commission (NZPC) published its second interim report on productivity in the private sector component of the services industry. This website provides easy access to this report and related documents. Read more
In the Prime Minister’s recent State of the Nation speech that marked the starting line of this year’s election race, John Key’s major announcement was a $360m package, over four years, to build four new teacher roles. A policy that has seen widespread support across the education sector and among the public, it would see the promotion of 6,000 teachers in a workforce of 50,000. Read more
Wellington (31 January 2014): New Zealand’s relative attractiveness as an investment destination has slumped in the last 10-15 years according to Capital Doldrums: How Globalisation is Bypassing New Zealand, a report released by The New Zealand Initiative. Done well, foreign direct investment (FDI) creates jobs, usefully supplements domestic savings and further enhances the host country’s competitiveness by introducing leading-edge technologies, management expertise and access to overseas markets and expertise. Read more