Oliver is the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative. Before joining the Initiative, he was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, the Chief Economist at Policy Exchange in London, and an advisor in the UK House of Lords. Oliver holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Business administration and a PhD in Law from Bochum University in Germany.
Oliver is available to comment on all of the Initiative’s research areas.
Latest reports:
Research Note: The Unreserved Bank of New Zealand: Why unorthodox monetary policy needs boundaries (2019)
#localismNZ: Bringing power to the people (2019)
Submission: Future of Tax (2018)
Submission: Overseas Investment Amendment Bill (2018)
Go Swiss: Learnings from The New Zealand Initiative's visit to Switzerland (2017)
Manifesto 2017: What the next New Zealand Government should do (2017)
Why Europe Failed (2015)
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
Last week, the Thuringian parliament in Erfurt elected Thomas Kemmerich state premier. This was not only remarkable because his liberal Free Democrats have only five members in a parliament of 90. Read more
A wise man once said nothing is as old as yesterday’s newspaper. That would render Brexit, which went into effect last Friday, a piece of ancient history. Read more
This Friday, the 31st of January 2020, is a historic day. After 47 years of membership, and with 1,317 days passed since the 2016 referendum, the UK is leaving the European Union. Read more
Our new report, Pricing out Congestion: Experiences from abroad, looks overseas to see how other cities have successfully implemented road pricing systems that work for their people and their environment. Oliver Hartwich explains on The AM Show, the benefits of a road pricing system and what New Zealand can learn from these international examples. Read more
New Zealand's road congestion is getting worse. Motorists are spending more and more time stuck in traffic. Oliver Hartwich speaks to Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB about how a well-designed road pricing system for New Zealand could reduce our shocking congestion problems. Our new report, Pricing Out Congestion: Experiences from abroad looks overseas to see how other cities have successfully implemented systems that work for their people and their environment - and what New Zealand could learn from them. Read more
Oliver Hartwich talks Jesse Mulligan on Radio New Zealand through the findings in our new report, Pricing out Congestion: Experiences from abroad.The report focuses on the international experiences around congestion pricing, for example the use of road charges encouraging motorists to avoid traveling at peak times in busy routes, and shows how it could be implemented here.You can listen to the interview below. Read more
Some New Zealanders are spending more than one hundred hours a year sitting in traffic. Our new report, Pricing out Congestion: Experiences from abroad, says congestion charges could be the key to get Kiwis moving again.Oliver Hartwich tells Newshub that we've got endless examples around the world demonstrating congestion charges work in practice and that it is time to start doing it here.You can watch Oliver's interview on Newshub 6pm News below. Read more
The greatest social scandal of our time barely raises eyebrows anymore. Read more
The Prime Minister had declared 2019 “the year of delivery”. Voters will eventually judge the government on whether it has succeeded. Read more
When Christine Lagarde became president of the European Central Bank in November, she inherited a challenging legacy from her predecessor Mario Draghi. The ECB’s key people are openly divided on the future direction of monetary policy. Markets are expecting interest rates to stay ultra-low for decades, and parts of the continent’s banking system remain fragile. Read more
Over the past few months, you could not drive through any of our big cities without seeing some strange advertising messages. They were strange because, in our world of doom and gloom, they were spreading good news. Read more
On Monday, Lawyers for Climate Action (LfCA) launched in the New Zealand Parliament. It was the silk-wearing equivalent of protesting school children. It also showed the same enthusiasm for handing government more power. Read more
No one has ever accused the Germans of boundless optimism. There is a reason the word Weltschmerz (world-weariness) was once coined in Germany. Read more
If you have never heard of a “carbolic smoke ball”, you are obviously not a lawyer. The 1892 British case Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company is a classic in the law of contract. Read more
A couple of weeks ago, I spoke to a group of 13-year-old South Island students on a college excursion to the capital. Read more