The biggest risk to New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme isn’t technical issues in how the scheme is run or in its accounting. The biggest risk instead is politics. Read more
Clean air is certainly the flavour of the month in Europe judging from the skyrocketing price of carbon. Since April last year, emissions units on the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (“ETS”) have nearly quadrupled from €15 to above €56 (NZ$95) this week. Read more
I was very disappointed with the recent housing announcements. Partly because they will increase my rent. Read more
As economics Nobel laureate Paul Krugman once put it, “Productivity isn’t everything, but, in the long run, it is almost everything.” Which makes you wonder what Krugman would think of yesterday’s Budget. Hidden behind headlines of benefit increases, spending initiatives and a new unemployment insurance scheme lies a worrying small detail. Read more
It was an urgent warning that German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung published last week. Its authors warned of rising inflation, “massive social upheavals” and further political polarisation. Read more
In colonial India, Delhi had a little problem with cobras. Since cobras can cause unpleasant things, like death, a solution was needed. Read more
Potential skilled migrants deserve a few warnings about what they are getting into in moving to New Zealand – the kinds of disclosures that are often mandatory in the private sector to ensure consumers can make informed decisions The Fair Trading Act’s provisions against deceptive and misleading conduct do not seem to apply to Immigration New Zealand. Caveat emptor. Read more
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