When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Or at least that's what Hunter S. Read more
In times of war, parts of the every-day rulebook for liberal democracies must be suspended. To protect personal and economic freedoms, in wartime governments must temporarily curb some of them. Read more
No one doubts the economic costs of lost jobs and income from Covid-19 will be substantial in the short run. But what can we know about the likely magnitude of those costs? Read more
Fiscal responsibility matters. Being careful guardians of the public purse during good times provides flexibility for dealing with nightmare scenarios. Read more
The gloomy headlines say New Zealand just flagged its 28th case of coronavirus. Great. Read more
New Zealand’s ‘upset-no-one’, content-free National Curriculum is hurting our children’s education. To identify what knowledge should be every child’s entitlement, the Ministry of Education must be willing to have some difficult conversations. Read more
At our Initiative staff meetings over the past two months, Covid-19 already dominated our discussions. Startling as they are, we are not surprised by the events of the past days. Read more
Many international institutions will be considering the economic consequences of Covid-19 and what to do about it. For three years, I worked in the Economics Department of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and contributed to the production of its Economic Outlook – a publication looking at the growth prospects and policy challenges of member countries. Read more
Plenty of first-world countries have been hit with Coronavirus cases and failed to stamp it out effectively. However, Singapore has once again shined as an example of clever public policy. Read more
In wartime, it’s often hard to know exactly what is going on. Good communication is critical but it’s hard for governments – or anyone else – to make good decisions in the absence of information. Read more
There were three things I was looking for in this week's pandemic budget announcement. I was not disappointed. Read more
We might look abroad to see how a similar rule to that proposed by Simon Bridges to slash regulations has panned out, and not in completely mad places either – or at least not in the world’s more obvious madhouses. In 2001, the Liberal Party of British Columbia, Canada, was elected into office on the promise of regulatory reform. Read more
Nearly a decade ago, historian Niall Ferguson coined the term “Chimerica” to describe what he saw as the obvious and symbiotic relationship emerging between China and America. Most people would laugh today at the idea of the two Pacific heavyweights as economic and political partners. Read more
What happened in Italy this week could tempt us to feel smug. Surely, the decision to put the whole country into lockdown must be an exaggeration. Read more
What if the principal and chair of trustees of each of New Zealand’s 500 secondary schools received a report every year that cut through the noise to show exactly how their school was performing? Crucially, this report would be objective, data-driven and fair, because it adjusts for the unique community of students each school serves. Read more
