Some New Zealanders are spending more than one hundred hours a year sitting in traffic. Our new report, Pricing out Congestion: Experiences from abroad, says congestion charges could be the key to get Kiwis moving again. Read more
Public policy think tank The New Zealand Initiative opposes changing the purpose of the Crown Minerals Act from the promotion of mining for the benefit of New Zealanders. In our submission on the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s discussion document: Review of the Crown Minerals Act 1991, the Initiative addresses questions raised about the role and purpose of the Crown Minerals Act (CMA). Read more
Can market forces help get the chores done? Chief Economist Dr Eric Crampton discusses the economics of parenting with Barry Crump on the Radio New Zealand Nights programme. Read more
Cabinet’s decisions announced today by Finance Minister Grant Robertson to reform the governance and accountability arrangements of the Reserve Bank are commendable. Key among the decisions is establishing a governance board that will be responsible for all functions of the Reserve Bank, except those undertaken by the Monetary Policy Committee. Read more
Following the Government's announcement of the $12 billion for infrastructure, Dr Eric Crampton discusses on Radio New Zealand about the need to enable other ways of financing infrastructure on a stable basis rather than constantly relying on infrastructure deficits hitting near-crisis levels.
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The Reserve Bank of New Zealand should suspend its decision to increase banks’ capital and re-open the public consultation process says public policy think tank, The New Zealand Initiative. The RBNZ’s decision to increase the capital banks are required to hold will have adverse effects for borrowers and the wider economy. Read more
Ever since the OECD began testing the educational performance of 15-year olds in the early 2000s, New Zealand has performed progressively worse in all three assessed areas of reading, maths and science. The troubling trajectory was confirmed again with the release of the results of the OECD's 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) testing round. Read more
Confirmation came today that New Zealand’s once world-leading school system continues its steady decline. Ever since the OECD began testing the educational performance of 15-year olds in the early 2000s, New Zealand has performed progressively worse in all three assessed areas of reading, maths and science. Read more
The Government must halt its plans to introduce fair pay agreements or face harming workers, consumers, the unemployed and the wider economy says public policy think tank, The New Zealand Initiative. The Initiative’s submission in response to the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment’s October 2019 Discussion Paper reveals that the premises on which the fair pay agreement proposals are based remain deeply flawed. Read more
Following the release of our latest research note, Ignorance is not bliss: Why knowledge matters (and why we may not have enough of it), research fellow Briar Lipson spoke on Newstalk ZB to discuss the state of general knowledge in New Zealand and why a knowledge-rich curriculum is so important.
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On The AM Show, Briar Lipson discusses her new research, Ignorance is not bliss: Why knowledge matters (and why we may not have enough of it), and highlights the serious gaps in Kiwis' knowledge, Briar explains why a knowledge-rich curriculum is so important and says while it is exciting the Government has announced that New Zealand history will be a required subject in schools from 2022, why does it just stop there - what about teaching world history?
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We all assume we've got a handle on basic knowledge, but a new survey has found New Zealanders have some serious gaps when it comes to basic maths, geography and history facts. Briar Lipson spoke to Jesse Mulligan on Radio New Zealand about the finding from her new report, Ignorance is not bliss: why knowledge matters (and why we might not have enough of it). Read more
Worrying comments from Whetu Cormick, President of the New Zealand Principals Federation in today’s Herald show why, for the sake of educational equity, it is time New Zealand rethought its approach to knowledge in the national curriculum. Commenting on the Initiative’s latest research report, Ignorance is not bliss: Why knowledge matters (and why we may not have enough of it), Cormick explained that the curriculum was right to let teachers choose topics on the basis of students’ interests. Read more
New research released by The New Zealand Initiative reveals significant gaps in adult New Zealanders’ general knowledge. Ignorance is not bliss: Why knowledge matters (and why we may not have enough of it) argues that although information is readily available nowadays, our basic knowledge of subjects like geography, history, and maths is low. Read more
On Q+A, Briar Lipson discusses our survey that tested 1,000 voting-aged New Zealanders on the state of their general knowledge. The (surprising) findings formed the basis for her latest research note, Ignorance is not bliss: Why knowledge matters (and why we may not have enough of it). Read more