Few ideas haunt economic debate as relentlessly as “trickle-down.” Perhaps it’s the appeal of attacking something that no one has ever argued. The theory supposedly claims that making the rich richer benefits everyone as wealth “trickles down.” It sounds plausible and feels unfair – making it the perfect villain. Read more

In November 2023, Ayaan Hirsi Ali stunned many of her long-time admirers by announcing her conversion to Christianity. “We can’t counter Islamism with purely secular tools,” she explained. Read more

New Zealand’s economy has a chronic capital problem – and it is getting worse. Over the last 50 years, New Zealand has become one of the most undercapitalised economies in the developed world. Read more

Auckland Council has confirmed what many suspected: in most of the city centre, 20 storeys is quite tall enough. We wouldn’t want to frighten ourselves into looking like a real city. Read more

Nothing to see here, folks. Just a $400 million Boeing 747 from a foreign monarchy — accepted by the US Department of Defense for presidential use, then slated for retirement on the tarmac in full flight readiness at the future former president’s pleasure. Read more

Next week’s Budget is Nicola Willis’s opportunity to prove the government means business about restoring fiscal discipline. Treasury’s long-term models are flashing red. Read more

Donald Trump returned to power with America’s highly politicised universities squarely in his sights. Within weeks of his inauguration, his administration launched a sweeping campaign targeting dozens of institutions nationwide. Read more

American political scientist Francis Fukuyama is best known for declaring the “end of history” after the Cold War. History, of course, had other plans. Read more

Resources Minister Shane Jones recently floated a novel idea: government-backed insurance for oil and gas investors to protect them against future policy reversals. Let that sink in. Read more

When does a “woman” include a biological male? And who gets to decide – Parliament or the courts? Read more

I have no doubt that Peter Smith loves the West. You can feel it in every line of his writing – the anger at its enemies, the contempt for its betrayal, the frustration at its leaders who lack the courage to defend it. Read more

Imagine owning a fortune in investments while lacking the ready cash to fix your crumbling house. That is New Zealand’s position today. Read more

As chairman of a business-funded think tank, I have been called many things — neoliberal, libertarian, right-wing, and even (indirectly) one of “Hayek’s Bastards.” But never left-wing. And certainly not “left of Jacinda Ardern.” That is, until I started writing about Donald Trump. Read more

Two ships passing in the night might share the same destination yet follow very different courses. So it seems with David Harvey’s latest response to my report for The New Zealand Initiative, Who Makes the Law? Read more

The Reserve Bank has finally acknowledged it must review its controversial 2019 bank capital decision requiring large banks to increase their capital reserves from 10.5% to 18% by 2028. The timing is revealing. Read more