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
There are election campaigns, there are weird election campaigns, and there are New Zealand election campaigns. I arrived in this beautiful country five years ago, having previously lived in Germany, the UK and Australia. Read more
Manifesto 20217: What the next New Zealand government should do, spells out what The New Zealand Initiative expects the next government to tackle after the 2017 General Election. It is immaterial to us which parties form the government. Read more
The New Zealand Initiative's Executive Director Dr Oliver Hartwich discusses Manifesto 2017, the housing crisis and education on The AM Show.
Read more
A few years ago, British schools got worried about their bad students. Not so much about the fact they were not learning enough. Read more
Before she became British Prime Minister, Theresa May announced that “Brexit means Brexit.” Ever since, we have been wondering what she meant. It is now nine months after the Brexit referendum. Read more
Our Executive Director, Dr Oliver Hartwich, joins 1News to discuss John Key's legacy, and areas of public policy that still need improvement. Read more
If you are familiar with British popular history, you may recall this incident from the winter of 1991. A severe weather system had crippled British Rail’s services, despite the company’s claimed best preparations for snow and ice. Read more
You have to feel sorry for Prime Minister Bill English. Though he inherited a largely positive legacy from his predecessor, his young premiership is also saddled with the two large failures of the Key era: our out-of-control housing market and Key’s refusal to deal with NZ Super. Read more
Microsoft founder Bill Gates copped a lot of criticism for demanding an income tax for robots. That is unfair. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich speaks to Duncan Garner on The AM Show about immigration numbers in New Zealand, what effect these new arrivals are having on the housing market and discusses the impact on the New Zealand economy.
Read more
As a German living in New Zealand, I have the rare privilege of following not one but two election campaigns this year. Both of them are fought under the obscure MMP electoral system, and both of them are culminating on the same weekend. Read more
It is more likely for a dog to compile an inventory of sausages than for a politician to build up financial reserves. At least that is how one former German finance minister, the late Franz Josef Strauss, once described the constant temptations for fiscal policy. Read more
As we head towards a series of budget surpluses, Executive Director Dr Oliver Hartwich discusses his thoughts on how these surpluses could be spent. To find out more read his column in The National Business Review from 10 February 2017. Read more
One of the most refreshing developments in New Zealand politics is the sudden appearance of Gareth Morgan’s Opportunities Party. No matter whether you love or loathe Morgan, it is uplifting to have a party that defines itself as an ideas and policy movement. Read more
Executive Director, Dr Oliver Hartwich, discusses our latest report, The New New Zealanders: Why migrants make good Kiwis, on Newstalk ZB with Leighton Smith.
Read more