Unless you’ve been living under a rock and avoiding the internet entirely (and really who could blame you in an election year) you’ll have seen the controversy about Kiwibank’s new mascot. The problem isn’t the mascot itself – a cute little sheep named Buck. Read more

Virtuous and vicious cycles in policy are both entirely possible. Sometimes at the same time. Read more

It matters in its own right, as part of the basic bundle of civic, economic, and personal freedoms that we all should be able to enjoy. The State has no place in the bedrooms of the nation, and it shouldn’t have much place in its boardrooms either. Read more

Our Chief Economist Dr Eric Crampton joined a panel of economists and commentators, Hilmarie Schulze (BERL), Max Rashbrooke, and VUW Students' Association president Aiden Donaghue, chaired by Infometrics' Brad Olsen, for Victoria University of Wellington's Aotearoa Votes election series, discussing what's working and not working in New Zealand's economy. Read more

ur Chief Economist Eric Crampton joined Sean Plunket on The Platform to discuss National's election-year proposal to split Foodstuffs' Pack'n Save operations from its New World and Foursquare banners. Eric suggested the policy looks like a populist response to cost-of-living polling pressure rather than considered reform, and warned the accompanying cost-benefit analysis rests on a shaky assumption. Read more

Our Chief Economist Eric Crampton joined philosopher Peter Boghossian, in a conversation produced with the Free Speech Union, to discuss immigration policy, housing affordability, and public health taxes. Eric argued New Zealand's points-based immigration system works precisely because it pairs openness with a genuine willingness to deport those who break the rules, pointed to zoning reform as the key driver behind Auckland's improved housing affordability, and made the case against "sin taxes" as a tool for shaping health behaviour. Read more

Our Chief Economist Eric Crampton joined Sean Plunket on The Platform to unpack New Zealand First's policy to bar non-citizens from receiving superannuation. Eric pushed back on the claim that New Zealand is an outlier internationally, noting that superannuation-style pensions in Canada, the UK, and across much of Europe are typically based on residency rather than citizenship, much like New Zealand's own system, which already requires 10 to 20 years of residence depending on birth year. Read more