Newstalk ZB: Dr James Kierstead on grade inflation threatening university credibility

Dr James Kierstead talked to Heather du Plessis-Allan on Newstalk ZB about the Initiative's new research showing A grades at New Zealand universities have surged 64% since 2006 and now make up nearly 40% of all grades. Dr Kierstead explained that academics face pressure to inflate grades to maintain student numbers and positive feedback, undermining universities' credibility as reliable signals to employers and requiring potential government intervention to address the systemic issue. Read more

Dr James Kierstead

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Newstalk ZB
25 November, 2025

RNZ: Dr James Kierstead warns A grades set to become most common as university grade inflation accelerates

Dr James Kierstead talked to Ingrid Hipkiss on RNZ's Morning Report about his research showing A grades are becoming the most common at New Zealand universities, rising from 35% to nearly 50% at some institutions. Dr Kierstead explained that grade inflation is driven by academics' incentives around student numbers and feedback, arguing it dilutes the value of top grades and undermines motivation for hard work. Read more

Dr James Kierstead

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RNZ
25 November, 2025
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50 Shades of Grades: Grade Compression at New Zealand Universities

A grades are now only a few years away from becoming the most common grade awarded at New Zealand universities. The research note, ‘Fifty Shades of Grades: Grade Compression at New Zealand Universities’, builds on the Initiative's August report, ‘Amazing Grades’, which identified a substantial rise in A grades as well as rising pass rates. Read more

Dr James Kierstead

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Research Note
25 November, 2025

Über-messy

On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that four Uber drivers have actually been Uber employees all along. In the Court’s view, Uber had enough control over those drivers’ businesses that they couldn’t be considered contractors. Read more

Dr Eric Crampton

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Insights Newsletter
21 November, 2025
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Podcast: Housing Affordability: NZ at the Global Policy Frontier (Part 1) - Clarity Emerging from the Mists

The opening episode traces the intellectual and personal journey that gave birth to the idea of "Competitive Urban Land Markets" (CLM). It follows Chris Parker’s path from his early attempt at NZIER to broaden traditional cost–benefit models so they could capture the transformative effects of infrastructure investment, to his move into Auckland Council as Chief Economist, where he began to see high land prices not as signs of prosperity but as symptoms of monopoly and institutional failure. Read more

Dr Eric Crampton

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Dr Benno Blaschke
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Chris Parker
21 November, 2025

The lever-pullers

Wellington has solved New Zealand’s 50-year productivity puzzle. According to a new 60-page joint briefing from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade, the answer is simple. Read more

Roger Partridge

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Insights Newsletter
21 November, 2025

Podcast: Sir Ian Taylor on literacy, AI and what schools should teach

In this episode, Michael talks to Sir Ian Taylor, founder of Animation Research, about what schools should prioritise in a rapidly changing world. The conversation explores whether traditional literacy still matters when machines can read, and whether curiosity-driven learning or knowledge-rich curricula better equip students for critical thinking in an unpredictable future. Read more

Dr Michael Johnston

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Sir Ian Taylor
14 November, 2025

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