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
We are still five days ahead of Groundhog Day (celebrated on 2 February each year), yet we feel like we have been here before. Only Punxsutawney Phil and Andie MacDowell are missing. Read more
Oliver Hartwich joins Ben Craven to discuss the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Is invasion inevitable, or does Putin have other goals in mind? Read more
Inflation is now higher than it has been in more than three decades. Matt Burgess and Oliver Hartwich join Ben Craven to discuss the latest inflation figures. Read more
Oliver Hartwich joins ABC Australia’s Josh Szeps to discuss the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and whether Putin will invade.
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When 100,000 Russian troops are lining the border with Ukraine, an invasion must be imminent, right? Well, not so fast. Read more
Oliver Hartwich joins Ben Craven for the final NZ Initiative podcast of 2021. The pair recap the highlights of the past twelve months, look at how the Initiative has influenced policy, and outline plans for 2022. Read more
New Year’s and Christmas are traditional occasions to reminisce about the past twelve months and wonder what the next will bring. Looking in the back mirror is easier. Read more
Is there anything worse than a politician who does not understand economics? The answer is a politician who mistakenly thinks he does. Read more
Oliver Hartwich joins Ben Craven to discuss the government’s proposal for social unemployment insurance, and the lessons New Zealand should heed from Germany’s experience with social security. To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
On Newstalk ZB, Mike Hosking reviews and reads out parts of Oliver Hartwich's article in the NZ Herald on social insurance lessons from Germany. In the article, Oliver says New Zealanders who have never worked abroad may not appreciate just how much Europeans contribute to their various insurance schemes. Read more
Is there anyone who could be against something as positive sounding as ‘Social Unemployment Insurance’? Social Unemployment Insurance, a scheme the Government is currently developing, evokes compassion and a desire to help those in need. Read more
In all the excitement over the new ‘Traffic Light System’ and National’s new leader, a big story went almost unnoticed last week. According to the Herald, the Government is about to complete its proposals for unemployment insurance. Read more
Oliver Hartwich joins Ben Craven to discuss the new German coalition of the centre-left Social Democrats, the free market Free Democrats, and the Greens. What does the new government believe in, and what can we learn from their huge 177-page coalition document? Read more
At the formation of new governments, it has become an element of German political kitsch to quote from Hermann Hesse’s poem ‘Steps.’ Well, at least the famous line, “A magic dwells in every beginning.” Nonetheless, the talks leading to Germany’s new 'traffic lights coalition' were not particularly magical. Its name comes from the colours of its three parties: the red Social Democrats, the yellow Free Democrats, and the green, well, Greens. Read more
One in eight people worldwide could read Pride and Prejudice when Jane Austen published it in 1813. Today, it is the opposite. Read more