Is reality optional in academia?

Dr Bryce Wilkinson
Insights Newsletter
4 November, 2016

In an NBR article last week I wrote about scams in the form of public misinformation about economic inequality in New Zealand. The first one I mentioned was the assertion that inequality here has risen faster than in any other country “in recent years”.

Dr Mike Joy, a senior lecturer in Environmental Science/Ecology at Massey University, has since managed to top that assertion. In an article in the DomPost on 28 October he states unequivocally that:

“The divide between the rich and the poor, despite “trickle down”, is growing faster in New Zealand than in any other developed country.”

More decades ago than I wish to recall a pop group called the Brothers Four had a rather sweet song about the pleasures of being an upside-down sloth. Two of its lines read:

The world is such a cheerful place when viewed from upside-down
It makes a rise of every fall, a smile of every frown

Its relevance? Well, perhaps Dr Joy was standing on his head when viewing the Ministry of Social Development’s charts comparing income inequality trends in New Zealand with those in developed countries.

Specifically, a chart in its 2016 Overview report shows a rising income inequality trend for the USA and a declining one for New Zealand since the mid-1990s. One would have to view it from upside down to draw the opposite conclusion. Or perhaps Dr Joy does not consider the USA to be a developed country?

A second chart, in its Incomes report contrasts a broadly flat income inequality trend for New Zealand with a rising trend for member countries of the OECD on average. Dr Joy really does have things upside down.

What about his dismissive “trickle down” reference? People who oppose economic growth probably don’t want to believe its benefits can be broadly distributed.

Well, New Zealand experienced a period of rapid economic growth from 1992 and MSD’s charts show it was broadly shared across a range of income groups.

An inconvenient outcome for the anti-growth fraternity no doubt, but to be expected since income inequality did not rise.

As Dr Eric Crampton pointed out here Dr Joy’s ignorance of such findings appears to be matched by his ignorance of economics, including the economics of externalities.

Personally, I think the public deserves better from the academics it helps to fund. No doubt some of their students and colleagues feel the same way.

Stay in the loop: Subscribe to updates