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
In the past, competitors could stop each other's projects through land-use planning. Although some of that has been dialled back, it's coming back in other ways. Read more
There was remarkable agreement at the New Zealand Economics Forum last week. Waikato University’s Forum is now an annual feature of the policy calendar, barring Covid interruptions. Read more
Sean Plunket talks to Dr Eric Crampton about his latest Newsroom article about the potential consequences of NZ's Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill. Watch below. Read more
The classic Simpsons “Monorail” episode wasn’t just a cautionary tale about local council megaprojects gone wrong. Monorail salesman Lyle Lanley told the good people of Springfield that he’d “sold monorails to Brockway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook. Read more
It might still be a longshot. But an interesting thread ran through this year’s Waitangi speeches and interviews. Read more
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
The way New Zealand’s councils decide whether they have zoned sufficient land for development makes it hard to zone sufficient land for development. The problem is not any specific analysis. Read more
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
It’s funny how times change. In 2019, Labour announced its first ‘wellbeing’ budget. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton speaks to Michael Laws on The Platform about New Zealand's economic challenges. Watch below. Read more
If Guyon Espiner at Radio New Zealand is right about Associate Health Minister Casey Costello’s plans for tobacco policy, there is reason to celebrate. At least for those who care about harm reduction, proportionality, and civil liberties. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton is interviewed by Ali Jones and Ian Powell on RNZ's The Panel about Wellington Water issues and talk about a volumetric user pays model. Listen here (Eric's interview starts at the 11:30 mark). Read more
On 5 December 1933, ninety years ago this week, America ended alcohol prohibition. Fourteen years of prohibition had reduced drinking, but at a terrible cost. Read more
Andreas Heuser, Managing Director with Castalia, joins Dr Eric Crampton on the podcast to talk about the massive energy potential of deep geothermal. They discuss what supercritical geothermal is, climate policy and the need for fast-tracking consenting processes. Read more
The New Zealand Productivity Commission was borne of the 2008 coalition agreement between National and Act. And it was ended by the 2023 coalition agreement between the same two parties. Read more