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.
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
Britain went to the polls yesterday but it could be a while until we know the result. It may take even longer until we know what the result means. Read more
Should Australian residence visas be for sale? That is the question the Productivity Commission has to investigate now as outlined in a paper it released last week. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich discusses the concept of price-based immigration systems, whereby immigration would use entry fees as the primary determinant for who gains entry to a country. 5 May 2015. Read more
Since the free trade agreement with China came into effect in 2008, exports to China have soared. The trading relationship with China has been helping the New Zealand economy navigate through the past years of global uncertainty. Read more
Imagine the following scenario. A large company’s 78-year-old chairman and former chief executive, who also happens to be a major shareholder, fails in his bid to oust the current chief executive. Read more
Talk about a capital gains tax (“CGT”) as a solution for the Auckland housing market has heated up again over the past couple of weeks. The Reserve Bank’s Deputy Governor, Grant Spencer, suggested that the tax treatment of housing needed to be changed. Read more
The UK elections are only two weeks away and typically, at this stage of the campaign, one should have at least a rough idea what is going to happen. Not so this time. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich discusses the Kiwi dollar on SBS Radio. Read more
Last week, the Reserve Bank’s Deputy Governor Grant Spencer signalled that he favours more demand-side interventions in the housing market. In a speech and in a radio interview he argued that increasing housing supply, though highly desirable, may take too long to have an effect on house prices. Read more
Last week, I wrote about Ben Bernanke’s critique of Germany’s exorbitant trade surplus (Bernanke’s misguided fix for Germany, April 9). My conclusion may have surprised a few readers: The best way to deal with the German surplus would be to take Germany out of the eurozone. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich appeared on Australia's ABC News on 14 April 2015 to discuss near parity between the Australian and New Zealand dollars, and the possibility of a trans-Tasman currency. Read more
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s surprise decision not to cut interest rates only postponed the expected 'parity party' between the Kiwi and the Aussie dollars. The way things are going, it is a matter of time until both currencies are of equal value. Read more
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s surprise decision not to cut interest rates only postponed the expected “parity party” between the Kiwi and the Aussie dollars. The way things are going, it is a matter of time until both currencies are of equal value. Read more
Since March 30, former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has been blogging on economic policy for the Brookings Institution, where he is a Distinguished Fellow in Residence. His first posts dealt with questions such as why interest rates were so low, the thesis of a ‘secular stagnation’ and the global savings glut. Read more
To begin with an anecdote, a Western diplomat recently told me about a meeting he once had with a Chinese counterpart. They both wanted to discuss issues relating to the Pacific Islands. Read more