Bryce is a Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative, and also the Director of the Wellington-based economic consultancy firm Capital Economics. Prior to setting this up in 1997 he was a Director of, and shareholder in, First NZ Capital. Before moving into investment banking in 1985, he worked in the New Zealand Treasury, reaching the position of Director. Bryce holds a PhD in economics from the University of Canterbury and was a Harkness Fellow at Harvard University. He is a Fellow of the Law and Economics Association of New Zealand.
Bryce is available for comment on fiscal issues, our poverty, inequality and welfare research. He also has a strong background in public policy analysis including monetary policy, capital markets research and microeconomic advisory work.
Bryce was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2025 New Year's honours for his significant contributions to public policy formation and economic research, spanning his influential work at Treasury during New Zealand's major economic reforms and his extensive research on fiscal discipline and regulatory quality.
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
In Greek mythology, Sisyphus is condemned to spend eternity rolling a massive boulder uphill, time after time, for no lasting gain. Every time he gets it uphill, it escapes his grasp and rolls back to the bottom. Read more
Last night, I found myself standing at St Peter’s Church for the “Red Tape Hui,” not to confess my economic sins, but to proselytise about the virtues of the prospective Regulatory Standards Bill. The event, hosted by Labour’s Greg O’Connor, MP for Ōhāriu and Assistant Speaker of the House, featured a panel including Dr Bryce Edwards from The Integrity Institute and Craig Renney from the Council of Trade Unions. Read more
In this episode, Oliver talks to Bryce about his new report "The People's Portfolio", which examines New Zealand's $571 billion in Crown-owned assets and makes the case for privatising many of them to improve economic efficiency rather than simply raising funds. They discuss how current government ownership of these assets is actually costing taxpayers money, the historical success of privatisations like Telecom, and the challenges of implementing a politically viable privatisation strategy. Read more
How should the government fund the billions more dollars needed to improve New Zealand’s infrastructure, boost defence spending and much else? It must be done by some combination of cutting other spending, raising taxes, borrowing, or selling assets. Read more
Imagine if your household owned a share in many valuable things - houses, businesses, forests, and more - worth about $275,000. But the income you were getting was meagre. Read more
Dr Bryce Wilkinson talked to Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB about his New Zealand Initiative report which found government-owned assets worth $571 billion aren't generating sufficient returns to cover borrowing costs. Dr Wilkinson suggested selling commercial assets and underutilised land while acknowledging the political challenges, as the government now pays 3.7 cents in interest for every tax dollar collected. Read more
Wellington (Tuesday, 25 February 2025) - A new report by The New Zealand Initiative shows the government owns $571 billion in assets - equivalent to $275,000 for every Kiwi household. "The returns from these government-owned assets don't even cover the interest costs on the money borrowed to buy them," says Dr Bryce Wilkinson, author of The People's Portfolio: A $571 Billion Question. Read more
This report shows the government owns $571 billion in assets - equivalent to $275,000 for every Kiwi household. "The returns from these government-owned assets don't even cover the interest costs on the money borrowed to buy them," says Dr Bryce Wilkinson, author of The People's Portfolio: A $571 Billion Question. Read more
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he wants a bureaucracy that says “yes.” He is right to want that of course, but a lot of current rules would need to change. Under current rules, far too much is too hard. Read more
If you believe some of its critics, the pending Regulatory Standards Bill is a demonic measure to end New Zealand society as we know it. This is beyond false; it is ridiculous. Read more
In this episode, Oliver talks to Bryce about the Regulatory Standards Bill, which aims to prevent laws and regulations that would make New Zealanders worse off. Bryce explains that while there's currently a discussion document out for public feedback from the Ministry of Regulation, some recent criticisms misunderstand what's being suggested. Read more
Misinformation about the pending Regulatory Standards Bill is rife. Currently, there is no Bill, only a departmental discussion document. Read more
1 INTRODUCTION AND MAIN POINTS 1.1 This submission on the Ministry for Regulation’s Discussion Document on the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative), a Wellington based think tank supported primarily by major New Zealand businesses. In combination, our members employ more than 150,000 people. Read more
The New Zealand Treasury's latest forecasts and the Government's Budget Policy Statement (BPS) are disquieting. Public debt management looks lax and possibly illegal, government spending entrenches excess rather than tackles it, and productivity growth measures are welcome but piecemeal. Read more
Dr Bryce Wilkinson talks to Heather du Plessis Allan on Newstalk ZB about the Treasury's half-year economic update, expressing concern about a delayed return to budget surplus and advocating for reduced government spending, which is currently running about 2% of GDP higher than pre-COVID levels. Listen below. Read more