Final Eric Crampton

Dr Eric Crampton

Chief Economist

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

Email: eric.crampton@nzinitiative.org.nz

Recent Work

2024 11 22 age limits social media

Podcast: How would age limits for social media work?

In this episode, Eric and Michael discuss Australia's proposed law to ban social media for under-16s, examining how age verification would likely require government ID and create serious privacy risks as platforms would need to store this sensitive data. While acknowledging concerns about social media's impact on young people, they argue the Australian approach could enable government surveillance, compromise online anonymity, and create technical challenges that would either be easily circumvented or impose heavy costs on legitimate users. Read more

Dr Eric Crampton
Dr Michael Johnston
22 November, 2024
cathedral cove

Finally proposals to set access charges

Getting from Auckland to Cathedral Cove means a two-and-a-half-hour drive over 178 kilometres, the last third of which is a windy path through the Coromandel. Inland Revenue sets a $1.04 per kilometre mileage rate for business travel – a figure meant to include wear and tear on your vehicle as well as running costs. Read more

Dr Eric Crampton
Newsroom
19 November, 2024
2024 11 14 breaking down healthcare supply barriers

Podcast: Breaking Down Healthcare Supply Barriers

In this episode, Eric talks to Dylan Mordaunt, a clinician and visiting fellow at Victoria University, about healthcare policy and regulation in New Zealand, sparked by a recent Niskanen Centre report highlighting how supply constraints affect healthcare delivery. They explore various regulatory barriers affecting medical practitioners, scope of practice limitations, and access to medicines, while discussing how to balance public safety with increasing healthcare accessibility and capacity. Read more

Dr Eric Crampton
Dr Dylan Mordaunt
14 November, 2024

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