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 the 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.
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
No country moves people the way New Zealand does. Nearly three in ten New Zealand residents were born overseas. Read more
As an economics student in Germany in the 1990s, I kept encountering two countries at the other end of the world. Whenever a professor wanted to prove that reform was possible, the examples were Australia and New Zealand. Read more
In this episode, Michael talks with Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of the New Zealand Initiative, about two new reports, New Zealand by Comparison and New Zealand by Numbers, which chart how New Zealand measures up against 28 other countries and how it has changed over recent decades. They discuss why a country that attracts migrants from around the world keeps losing so many of its own people, how Australia matches New Zealand on almost everything but the economy, the Eastern European economies closing in, and wellbeing rankings that still sit near the top of the world but are slipping. Read more
A fortnight ago, I wrote in these pages about the fall in New Zealand’s road toll, from 843 deaths in 1973 to a provisional 271 last year. I thought it was an achievement worth celebrating. Read more
Two weeks ago, New Zealand by Numbers asked whether New Zealand was improving. Our latest report asks a harder question: is it keeping up? Read more
Newstalk ZB's news covered our report measuring New Zealand against 28 other countries on areas like work, health and the economy, which placed the country first for labour force participation but 20th for productivity and 26th for economic diversity. Executive Director Dr Oliver Hartwich said policy factors were holding the country back, such as how hard it is for foreign investors to do business here, and that New Zealand is shutting itself off not just from capital flows but from the international connectivity that comes with them. Read more
Wellington (Wednesday, 22 July 2026) – Two weeks ago, New Zealand by Numbers asked whether New Zealand was improving. A new report from The New Zealand Initiative asks a harder question: is it keeping up? Read more
The Opportunity Party wants to be known as the party of ideas. Now polling near five percent, I decided to test one. Read more
When France celebrates its national holiday today, it will look much the same as always. There will be the usual aircraft flyover and the cavalry parading past the president. Read more
In this webinar, we launch our new research note "Adrift: A Trading Nation, an Ageing Navy and the 2027 Frigate Decision". Author Major General (Retired) John Howard presents key findings on why a trading nation like New Zealand needs a frigate and what is at stake in the 2027 replacement decision, joined by commentary from Major (Retired) Tim Ewing-Jarvie. Read more
Nostalgia is a wonderful state of mind but, almost by definition, it glorifies the past while ignoring things that were not so good. Many older New Zealanders are nostalgic for the 1970s. Read more
In this episode, Oliver talks with retired Major General John Howard about a crowded few weeks in global security, from the NATO summit in Türkiye and Trump's renewed comments about Greenland to Russian pressure on Poland's border. They focus on what China's submarine-launched ballistic missile demonstration on 6 July and Australia's new security agreement with Fiji mean for New Zealand, and why our national security system is not moving at the speed of relevance. Read more
In 1973, 843 people died on New Zealand roads. Last year, with far more people driving far more cars, the provisional toll was 272. Read more
Wellington (Wednesday, 8 July 2026) – Is New Zealand a country in decline or a quiet success story? A new report from The New Zealand Initiative argues it is neither. Read more
Is New Zealand a country in decline or a quiet success story? A new report from The New Zealand Initiative argues it is neither. Read more