Wealth taxes are tricky things. Even leaving aside the complications in real-world applications that caused the OECD to recommend against them, wealth taxes have an additional pernicious effect. Read more
The rise of automation, artificial intelligence and pressures from developing economies are threatening low-skilled and unskilled jobs. Never has the need for school leavers to be well-educated been more important than today. Read more
New Zealand faces its worst recession in nearly a century. Unfortunately, the economic response to the challenges of covid-19 leaves much to be desired. Read more
New Zealand faces its worst recession in nearly a century. Unfortunately, the economic response to the challenges of Covid-19 leaves much to be desired. Read more
It took New Zealand to disprove the entire body of political science. For millennia, political philosophy was thought to be about the dual question of who rules and for what purpose. Read more
It took eighteen years for New Zealand’s school system to plunge from world-leading to decidedly average. Despite a concurrent 32% real rise in per-pupil spending, in maths, Kiwi 15-year-olds now perform the way 13 and a half year-olds did just 20 years ago. Read more
New Zealand looks to have won its second battle against Covid-19. The country should brace itself for another round of self-congratulatory backslapping. Read more
Saturday marked the 30th anniversary of Germany’s (second) unification. The changes were dramatic for the country itself, perhaps most visibly symbolised when the seat of government shifted from Bonn to Berlin. Read more
If your main source of information on this year’s cannabis referendum were the Say Nope To Dope campaign, it would be pretty easy to imagine marijuana-leaf decorated cannabis shops on every corner. Contrary to that campaign’s full-page ads portraying classic Kiwi dairies turned into garish marijuana stores, the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill is rather restrictive. Read more
“We shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent outcomes.” That is how the Ministry of Education describes its purpose. If only that lofty statement had anything to do with the on-the-ground experience of schooling in New Zealand. Read more
I had the misfortune recently to lunch with an economist. Economists are generally despondent about government stupidity, ineptitude and profligacy. Read more
For political tragics, Wednesday was a feast day. First, the US Presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Read more
Wellington City’s Draft Spatial Plan, currently out for consultation, asks where the city might find room for another 50-80,000 people over the next thirty years. The challenge is bigger than that. Read more
Judging by the length of Labour’s manifesto proposals for workplace relations reform, you might think New Zealand’s labour markets were not working well for workers. If re-elected, Labour will persist with plans of former Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Ian Lees-Galloway to introduce compulsory industry-wide collective bargaining (dubbed ‘Fair Pay Agreements’). Read more
Times are tough, I get it. All this talk of a “new normal” but only Coco’s Cantina in Auckland seems serious about getting us there. Read more