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
Before becoming Foreign Secretary in the British government, William Hague was one of the most sought-after celebrities on the speaking circuit. That was not least due to his wit and sense of humour. Read more
When the Prime Minister delivered his State of the Nation speech last week, the ideas on education reform were bold and substantial. Even the teachers’ unions, not the government’s most natural ally, were impressed. Read more
For a long time, the Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, has enjoyed a reputation as Europe’s eternal naysayer. Whatever measures were being discussed to save the euro or revive the European economy, the Bundesbank was usually opposed – and increasingly isolated. Read more
It was sad to see not one but two Interislander ferries docked in Wellington Harbour last weekend. But should that really make it a political issue? Read more
The European debt and growth crisis has seemingly divided the continent into saints and sinners. On the one hand, there are the profligate, lazy, unproductive countries of the European periphery, unflatteringly abbreviated as the PIIGS. Read more
When 2,300 business leaders and government officials met for the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong this week, they were asked to vote on what they saw as the greatest threat to the world economy. Opinions were divided between troubles in emerging markets (52 per cent) and the withdrawal of monetary stimulus by the US Federal Reserve (32 per cent). Read more
This year may not turn out to be a historic year for Europe but one thing is certain: it will be a year full of historical commemorations. All in one, 2014 marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain, the 75th anniversary of the Second World War, the centenary of the First World War – and the 5th year of the euro crisis. Read more
A week is a long time in politics, as former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson once said. He may well have been right when he coined this phrase in the 1960s. Read more
A week is a long time in politics, as former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson once said. He may well have been right when he coined this phrase in the 1960s. Read more
When the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released its last World Investment Report in June this year, it was a sobering read for New Zealand. Though we may be convinced we live in one of the most attractive places in the world, it does not show in our ability to attract foreign capital. Read more
I have been spending this week in Hong Kong as a guest of the Hong Kong government. To be frank, when I received the invitation to visit the Special Administrative Region (that is the name and status after it was handed back from Britain to China in 1997), I was not quite sure why they have such a programme for international visitors (mainly politicians and business people), let alone why I would be chosen to participate in it. Read more
In November 2013, New Zealand Initiative Executive Director Dr Oliver Hartwich was in Hong Kong as a guest of the Hong Kong government. Read more
Life is frustrating for German savers. If they had 5,000 euros to invest and wanted to keep them in an instant access savings account, Deutsche Bank currently offers them an interest rate of 0.15 per cent, the Cologne Savings Bank 0.20 per cent and Postbank a whopping 0.7 percent. Read more
It is a strange world. Even the most ardent defenders of the European Central Bank’s interest rate cut last week do not claim it will have any effect. Read more