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
If there is one constant in New Zealand’s foreign policy, it is its unpredictability. But last week, Defence Minister Andrew Little asserted that New Zealand “knows which side we’re on.” Which was news to us. Read more
Oliver Hartwich joins Nick Cater for an in-depth interview and insightful analysis at the frontline of the ideas war.
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For many years, Germany’s Greens had a good run. They kept increasing their share of the vote in elections at the federal and state levels. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich joins Amanda Stoker on The Bolt Report to discuss calls for Australia and New Zealand to set aside their own economic priorities and stop pitting policies against one another and instead work together.
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“There is a lot of ruin in a nation.” It is one of those sayings that is easy to misinterpret. Taking Adam Smith’s famous quote literally, there are so many ways for a country to go wrong. Read more
Let’s imagine a computer game, shall we? It is called ‘Master Lobbyist’, and your job is to play the governments of two countries off against each other. Read more
New Zealand has just received its 2023 Budget. Our Government has a clear predilection for spending. Read more
Perhaps he never quite played in the same league as Trump, Putin and Xi, but Turkey’s long-serving President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is cut from the same strongman cloth. Yet after Sunday’s first-round of Turkish presidential elections, there is a chance his time in power may soon come to an end. Read more
Sean Plunket talks to Dr. Oliver Hartwich from The New Zealand Initiative - NZ is now a mediocre country. Read more
The world thinks of New Zealand as the land of the long white cloud. Renowned for its stunning natural beauty and resources, it is considered an island paradise. Read more
In this thought-provoking episode, the Initiative’s economists – Dr Oliver Hartwich, Dr Eric Crampton, Dr Tony Burton, and Dr Bryce Wilkinson – dive into the debate over whether Australia is a better option for skilled talent. They discuss the current challenges faced by New Zealand in terms of health, education, and infrastructure, and how the nation's performance is deteriorating relative to Australia. Read more
Once upon a time, in a picturesque village nestled among green rolling hills under a long white cloud, there was a popular pub called The Nosy Parker. It was notorious for its silent dramas, where opinions and conflicts were expertly swept under the carpet. Read more
The Initiative team has welcomed a new addition to their team with the appointment of Tony Burton as a Research Fellow. Tony has a PhD in economics and philosophy from the University of East Anglia researching game theory and choice under uncertainty. Read more