"I only buy certified organic, fair-trade, palm oil-free, ethically-sourced, free-range, sustainable, eco-friendly, non-GMO products." Yeah right. Over the past few years, companies have noted a change in consumer preferences, particularly among younger cohorts. Read more
The EU may not work particularly well. The euro crisis is far from over, and there are plenty of sound economic reasons to criticise the project of European integration. Read more
The EU likes to portray itself as a good and modern place to do business, despite the hiccups of the euro crisis and other distractions. Between this self-image and reality nevertheless lies a gap, and nowhere is this more evident than in spread of corruption around the continent. Read more
Parenting books are full of advice about how to raise your kids. Much of it is obvious: You should love them, instil in them a love of learning, let them take risks, and teach them to be resilient over adversity. Read more
You were probably expecting our usual take on the week as in the previous 47 editions of Insights we sent out this year. But since this is our last bulletin before Christmas, please allow me to digress, just a little. Read more
Writing a regular column can occasionally be hard work. It is not enough just to know a topic in detail; it also requires insight and an angle to make any piece of writing meaningful. Read more
There is no such thing as a free lunch. The very same logic applies to tertiary education. Read more
Some things are worth doing even if they do not directly improve the company’s bottom line. Other things that could improve a firm’s profitability could nevertheless be wrong to do. Read more
On Tuesday, Minister of Commerce Paul Goldsmith decided not to proceed with the long debated criminalisation of cartel behaviour. The Minister’s explanation was telling: “In weighing up the benefits of criminalising cartel activity, the government had to consider the significant risk that cartel criminalisation would have a chilling effect on pro-competitive behaviour between companies.” If you are unfamiliar with competition law, you would be surprised by such a statement. Read more
Christmas slouches ever nearer. And with it holiday shopping, impossibly loud brass bands on Lambton Quay, and television Christmas specials reminding us that charity ought not stop with the family Christmas tree. Read more
It is time to spice up the family Christmas, and I’m not talking about an extra teaspoon of nutmeg in the fruit mince pies. Wouldn’t Christmas be so much more bearable if we could all just chill out and pass around a joint? Read more
Imagine you lived in the middle of a dry desert and people from the coastal lowlands approached you with an ingenious proposal: to join their new flood insurance scheme. Unless you are very altruistic or insane, you would politely decline the offer. Read more
Spend any time working in local government and you will soon stumble across the long-running funding fight between New Zealand’s two tiers of government. In the white trunks is central government, frustrated by the inability to make progress on projects of national significance due to what it perceives to be local self-interest, particularly when it comes to infrastructure. Read more
Politics, not finance, is the prime factor stopping local authorities from being more pro-growth and pro-housing. That is a primary conclusion of a report, Local Government: Myths, Facts and Challenges, that The New Zealand Initiative released this week. Read more
Travelling to Hong Kong to study its welfare system may seem like a strange choice to some people. Like travelling to North Korea to study good governance, or Greece to study fiscal prudence. Read more