Before she became British Prime Minister, Theresa May announced that “Brexit means Brexit.” Ever since, we have been wondering what she meant. It is now nine months after the Brexit referendum. Read more
Einstein once said that we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. The thinking behind the management of New Zealand’s recreational fisheries is a case in point. Read more
I’m a fan of classic episodes of The Simpsons. In Cape Feare, Sideshow Bob sneaks a ride under the Simpsons’ car, with murderous intent. Read more
If you want to know the real value of recreational fishing, the last place you should look is inside an economic impact assessment. People often make fun of economists for knowing the costs of everything and the value of nothing, but when it comes to economic impact assessments, it’s even worse. Read more
Whenever controversial issues are debated, the loudest voices are often the least informed. Nowhere is this more evident than in the gender pay gap debate. Read more
This week business journalist Bernard Hickey took his pen to the subject of housing, listing the factors that have unintentionally conspired to create New Zealand’s housing affordability crisis. It is a piece worth reading because it offers a glimpse into the complex and intertwined regulations and constraints that prevent the housing market from functioning like every other market. Read more
One decent policy rule is never to make the perfect the enemy of the good, but to always keep the perfect in mind anyway. But sometimes there really is the chance to aim for the perfect. Read more
Any cat owner will tell you that cats are magnificent and regal creatures, descended from royalty and that they deserve to be treated like nothing less. Those cat owners are, of course, deluded. Read more
If you are familiar with British popular history, you may recall this incident from the winter of 1991. A severe weather system had crippled British Rail’s services, despite the company’s claimed best preparations for snow and ice. Read more
You have to feel sorry for Prime Minister Bill English. Though he inherited a largely positive legacy from his predecessor, his young premiership is also saddled with the two large failures of the Key era: our out-of-control housing market and Key’s refusal to deal with NZ Super. Read more
According to Oscar Wilde, “religion is like a blind man looking in a black room for a black cat that isn’t there, and finding it”. Well, in a way that is almost the definition of teacher quality. Read more
Official Briefings for Incoming Ministers should be worth reading. For a start, they should brief the new Minister about current issues and priorities. Read more
Contrary to media reports, a new study by policy thinktank the NZ Initiative does not recommend performance pay for high achieving teachers, says its author Martine Udahemuka. But still, she asks, shouldn’t parents and educators at least be having the conversation? Read more
If migrants are generally good for New Zealand and already contribute substantially to the public purse, why on earth would The New Zealand Initiative have suggested a levy on new migrants? The Initiative’s report on immigration, The New New Zealanders: Why migrants make good Kiwis, finds that New Zealand’s current immigration system is broadly successful but some tweaks could be worth considering. Read more
What I really love about the rest of the world is that as it gets crazier, we stay the same sane. Or at least mostly so. Read more