It would be insane to do the same thing over and over again and still expect different results. It’s a lesson those embroiled in the politics of the night have yet to learn. Read more
On Monday, Adrian Orr was interviewed on TV One’s Q+A programme. If you had not known that Orr is the Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, you could have mistaken him for a politician. Read more
It is the hope that this time it will be different that really kills you. Sisyphus at least knew his labours were futile and could resign himself to the task of forever pushing the boulder uphill. Read more
Few parents would give their child a cough medicine that had not been trialled. The potential risks of doing so are endless. Read more
For someone with a hammer, everything looks like a nail, they say. For politicians, large-scale restructuring and reorganisations are sometimes that hammer. Read more
As Doctor Frankenfurter prepared to step up the reactor power input three more points and bring life to the Rocky Horror in the classic Rocky Horror Picture Show, he welcomed the assembled “unconventional conventionists” who would witness his triumph. Unconventional monetary policy is a bit like Doctor Frankenfurter’s giant defibrillator experiment with the Rocky Horror. Read more
When US President John F. Kennedy approved the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, he relied on advice from his staff, the defence force and the secret service. Read more
These are strange times, even for economists. Fearmongers are urging governments to pump up their spending in order to maintain economic activity. Read more
They say you should never let a good crisis go to waste. New Zealand’s employment figures currently look superb. Read more
Eighties glam-metal band Cinderella taught us we don't know what we've got until it's gone. But it can be harder to know what you could have had if you never had it at all. Read more
Alan Duff’s latest book – A Conversation with My Country: Where we have come from. Where we can go. Read more
After spending the past half a year watching the Brexit drama unfold, it’s easy to forget another Euro crisis is still simmering: that of Europe’s monetary union. For many years, starting with Greece’s sovereign debt crisis in late 2009, the Euro crisis was a staple of our daily news consumption. Read more
On Wednesday 7 August, the Reserve Bank is likely to cut the OCR to a new record low of 1.25%. Kiwibank economists are already predicting that the OCR could be slashed even further to 0.75% next year. Read more
When the smallish Skatbank, a direct bank based in Germany’s east, started charging its wealthy private depositors interest in November 2014, it made international headlines. It was the first German bank to do so, and negative interest rates were still regarded as a ridiculous aberration. Read more
A collegial relationship between Treasury and the Reserve Bank is a good thing in principle. Monetary and fiscal policy remain the most important levers of economic policy, and the two institutions in charge of those levers need to exchange their views. Read more