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
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
Oliver Hartwich joins Ben Craven to discuss the effects of the Reserve Bank’s Long-term Asset Purchase Scheme that has so far cost taxpayers $6 billion – and counting. To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
Another Groundhog Day week in our never-ending Covid crisis. We got an announcement on Monday for another on Wednesday. Read more
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko is channelling Middle Eastern migrants and refugees towards Poland in a bid to destabilise the European Union. People are now camped between the Polish and Belarusian border with nowhere to go. Read more
In the past year, the 26 members of the European Defence Agency (EDA) have spent €186 billion on their militaries. But what is all that spending worth when even a few thousand refugees camping out in Belarus reveal how fragile and vulnerable Europe’s external borders are? Read more
Senior Fellow Dr David Law discusses his new paper on the Government’s plans to introduce an unemployment insurance scheme. To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
Matt Burgess joins Oliver Hartwich to discuss his latest research note, Climate of fear: How the Reserve Bank is overstepping its mandate. Matt’s research documents serious breaches of the RBNZ's responsibilities as regulator of the financial system, including one instance of misconduct. Read more