A worker producing $30 worth of widgets per hour but receiving a salary of $40 per hour would soon lose his job. No employer would be willing to subsidise their employees like that. Read more
The third column in our Insights newsletter is meant to be lighter. Something a bit wry or humorous – an amuse-bouche to close out the week. Read more
New Zealand’s housing shortage causes a lot of misery. An inflexible housing system makes it very hard for supply to respond to changes in demand. Read more
Vaccine access campaigners get one very big and very important thing very right. If only the richer part of the world can afford Covid vaccinations, the costs will not be borne only by people in poorer countries suffering from ongoing waves of illness and misery. Read more
The Prime Minister is delivering on her main promise. Before the 2017 election, Jacinda Ardern promised to lead a "transformational" government. Read more
Grant Robertson could not have looked more pleased delivering his 2021 pre-budget speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce earlier this week. For a start, he was speaking to a live audience, in stark contrast to 2020. Read more
Last week, The New Zealand Initiative released a paper outlining the perils of rent controls. It was fun to reminisce about our first year of economics study. Read more
Recently, you have been really responsible with your finances. You stopped buying chicken paninis, cut back on the flat whites, and eating out at KFC. Read more
What is it about climate change that turns august institutions into the intellectual equals of quivering jellyfish? Last week, Germany's highest court upheld a constitutional complaint against the Federal Government on climate change. Read more
Europe’s economy is at risk of becoming a place for the walking dead. That is how you can read a new report by the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB). Read more
What if the real problem with local government is not that there are too many of them, but rather too few? Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta in April announced an independent review of local government. Read more
The government’s new housing package, announced in March, will increase rents, and reduce the supply of rental accommodation to the detriment of many. Pressure to intervene in the rental market is already mounting. Read more
Shortly after he lost his Australian premiership, I attended a small, private dinner with John Howard in London. We talked about his nearly 12 years in office and the lessons he had learnt. Read more
It is now clear the government’s housing package was not a joke. The government released the policy shortly before April Fools’ Day. Read more
New Zealand was not caught entirely flat-footed last January when Covid first began making itself known. But we were several steps behind Taiwan, whose Central Epidemic Command Centre was alert to the risk very early. Read more