Final Eric Crampton

Dr Eric Crampton

Chief Economist

Eric is the Chief Economist at The New Zealand Initiative. With the Initiative, he has worked in policy areas ranging from freshwater management to policy for earthquake preparedness, and from local government to technology policy. He has recently focused on policy related to Covid-19 response. He served as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Economics at the Department of Economics & Finance at the University of Canterbury from 2003 through 2014.

Eric’s columns and commentary appear regularly in New Zealand’s major media outlets, as well as on his blog, Offsetting Behaviour. He can also be found on Twitter at @ericcrampton.

Phone: +64 4 499 0790

Email: eric.crampton@nzinitiative.org.nz

Recent Work

2024 02 09 Wellington Destrict Plan Episode Website

Podcast: The Independent Hearing Panel's review of Wellington's District Plan

This week, Eric talks to Marko Garlick and Eleanor West, formerly of Generation Zero and now co-ordinating City for People, about the Independent Hearing Panel's process and review of Wellington’s District Plan. They also discuss the research on housing affordability and zoning, and how Houston has avoided letting local objections block wider development. Read more

Dr Eric Crampton
Marko Garlick & Eleanor West
9 February, 2024
website wellington city

A campaign for Wellington, and beyond

If a council’s zoning plans are wrong, it is hard for anything else to be right. If building enough housing in places where people want to live is forbidden, housing will be scarce, rents and house prices will be too high, and every other ‘wellbeing’ that councils try to deliver will suffer. Read more

Dr Eric Crampton
Insights Newsletter
2 February, 2024

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