Eric Crampton is Chief Economist with the New Zealand Initiative.
He applies an economist’s lens to a broad range of policy areas, from devolution and housing policy to student loans and environmental policy. He served on Minister Twyford’s Urban Land Markets Research Group and on Minister Bishop’s Housing Economic Advisory Group.
Most recently, he has been looking at devolution to First Nations in Canada.
He is a regular columnist with Stuff and with Newsroom; his economic and policy commentary appears across most media outlets. He can also be found on Twitter at @ericcrampton.
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
I have never been a fan of the old prayer wishing confusion upon one’s opponents. In a real war, your enemy’s confusion helps. Read more
You all know The New Zealand Initiative as a great little think tank for a great little country. You might not know that we are also a membership organisation: our work is supported by our members. Read more
Why should policy focus on economic growth? The Case for Economic Growth provides the New Zealand Initiative’s answer. Read more
I moved to New Zealand in 2003 because I saw it as an island (well, three islands and change) of sanity in a world going mad. The Outside of the Asylum, as Douglas Adams might put it. Read more
New Zealand is one of the world’s most expensive places to live. While there are a lot of reasons for that, a pretty substantial underlying reason is the country’s small population. Read more
When Harvard economist Ed Glaeser delivered a public lecture on urban economics in Christchurch in 2013, hosted by Canterbury’s Department of Economics and Finance, he was asked whether Christchurch would really recover. The question wasn’t crazy. Read more
New Zealand is not a cheap place to live – for a lot of reasons. We’re far from a lot of major markets, so shipping goods here can be expensive. Read more
Scientific truth is not established by poll results, but scientists’ consensus on scientific issues can tell us a lot. It does not tell us what optimal policy should be – that depends on costs and benefits. Read more
The Christchurch Press has more details on 'courtsiding' at the Cricket World Cup. They're describing the folks placing bets based on up-to-date information at the game, as opposed to those on 15-second TV delay, as "betting cheats". Read more
It turns out that you can both agree with Local Government New Zealand that we need to change how local government is financed, and with the Taxpayers’ Union that a lot of local governments could be more efficient. I think we can manage to hit both targets with one instrument in this case: fixing how local government is financed can help to make local government more efficient. Read more
There’s a lot to like in Local Government New Zealand’s report on local government finances. The report gets one very important thing right: It’s time that central government moved to tie local government finances more closely to local government performance to encourage development. Read more
It turns out that you can both agree with Local Government New Zealand that we need to change how local government is financed, and with the Taxpayers’ Union that a lot of local governments could be more efficient. I think we can manage to hit both targets with one instrument in this case: fixing how local government is financed can help to make local government more efficient. Read more
City planners have done terrible things to housing affordability. While improving the RMA is an important step in stemming the madness, it’s only a first step. Read more
Eric Crampton talks to Newstalk ZB's Michael Sergel about private vehicle hire app Uber lodging an IPCA complaint over drivers being pulled over by Police.
PLAY AUDIO Read more
Duncan Garner speaks with Eric Crampton, Head of Research at New Zealand Initiative, on the growing number of immigrants coming into New Zealand, especially in Auckland. Is it time to cap the amount of immigrants coming into our country? Read more