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
As the European Union is mobilising hundreds of billions of euros to save the continent’s currency, it would be reassuring to know that it can be trusted with money. After last week’s annual report from the European Court of Auditors, there is little reason for such optimism. Read more
No one should ever compile a cost-benefit analysis of the United States elections. After a campaign that lasted about 18 months (and felt even longer), and having spent an estimated US$6 billion promoting both candidates, nothing has changed. Read more
A latent state of emergency has become Europe’s new normal. Even professional optimists such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel believe that the euro crisis will be with the continent for at least another five years. Read more
When political announcements consist of motherhood statements that nobody could possibly disagree with, they often make little sense. Or at least they don’t tell us anything new. Read more
How would you feel if you suddenly discovered that you were much wealthier than you thought? Well great, obviously. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director at The New Zealand Initiative, interviews Initiative@home guest speaker, Dr Christian Sandström, Researcher at The Ratio Institute in Sweden, on his views on the Swedish economy. Read more
On Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets to decry the government’s austerity policies. Trade union leaders called for an end to budget cuts and privatisation. Read more
It's hard for supporters when salaries trump team loyalties. As I was watching Wellington Phoenix beat Sydney FC 2-0, I wasn’t sure which was stranger: seeing legendary Italian striker Alessandro Del Piero play football in New Zealand, or supporting a team dressed in black and yellow? Read more
The story has been going on for so long that it is hard to imagine daily news without Kim Dotcom. Ever since the controversial internet entrepreneur’s arrest on his Auckland estate, which is as oversized as his personality, the Dotcom saga has fluctuated between spy story, political scandal, and soap opera. Read more
Ladies and gentlemen, Thank you very much for the invitation to speak to you today. It’s a great pleasure to be here and present you with “A Global View of New Zealand’s Economy”. Read more
To international observers, Der Spiegel’s current cover must look rather odd. "Attention! Read more
A disclosure: I have never smoked a cigarette in my life. Indeed, I abhor the smell of tobacco and pestered my parents into giving up smoking when I was child. Read more
All of Europe is an economic disaster zone. All of Europe? Read more
The new governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Graeme Wheeler, just signed a slightly revised policy target agreement with a greater focus on financial stability, but for some this is not going far enough. A curious coalition of exporters, newspaper commentators, Labour, the Green Party, and New Zealand First wants the RBNZ to relinquish its traditional focus on inflation. Read more
After three years of the euro crisis, it is surprising how announcements still impress markets. The approval of the European Stability Mechanism by the German constitutional court and the plans of the European Central Bank to purchase unlimited quantities of government debt were enough to calm the markets and reduce yields on euro periphery debt. Read more