OPINION

William Voegeli, a senior editor at Clarement Review of Books, recently gave a speech, The case against liberal compassion, at Michigan's Hillsdale College that raised the question of why many (US) liberals appear to feel that no matter how much governments are spending to alleviate and prevent poverty, the latest amount is always shamefully inadequate. He put US federal spending on welfare, including health and education, in 2013 at 2/3rds of all federal outlays and 14% of GDP. Read more

Imagine for a minute there were a magical ring that, when twisted, rendered the wearer invisible. In using the ring, would that person remain true to their moral code, or abandon their principles and use it to their undue advantage? Read more

Imagine if your financial advisor, to whom you had entrusted with your life’s savings, turned around and told you one day that actually, they didn’t really know what they were doing; that you were probably in a better position than them to make decisions; but they invested your money anyway, just to prove they are doing their job. You probably wouldn’t be too pleased that a trusted authority could be so reckless with your hard-earned money. Read more

When Gordon Tullock submitted his article, The Welfare Costs of Tariffs, Monopoly and Theft, to the top journal in economics, The American Economic Review, John Gurley, then Editor, rejected it, saying “You will no doubt note that the referee neglects your point regarding the amount of real resources devoted to establishing, promoting, destroying monopolises, etc. However, I have noted it and, while I think it is certainly valid, it does not appear significant (as a theoretical contribution).” Tullock’s contribution was eventually published in 1967 in the rather less prestigious Western Economic Journal. Read more

We moved to New Zealand over a decade ago because I reckoned it the world’s least mad country: the Outside of the Asylum. It tops my informal ranking on this important metric. Read more

The media’s responsibility is to establish facts. Yet it seems the job of a journalist now is nothing more than taking a press release at face value, paraphrasing it a little, and fluffing it up. Read more

Dutch graphic design student Zilla van den Born recently made international headlines with her Bachelor’s thesis on ‘Fakebooking’. For those of us familiar with Facebook but not with Fakebooking, her project was all about falsifying her own life and posting about it on the social network. Read more

He who pays the piper calls the tune, a saying goes. But what if you would have to pay for the piper, the pipe and the tune three times over – without even calling the tune? Read more

With the housing affordability crisis square in the sights of the Key government, the recent launch of the Rules Reduction taskforce is welcome news. Headed by MP Jacqui Dean and Auckland Chamber of Commerce CEO Michael Barnett*, the group is tasked with hacking through redundant layers of local government regulation that drag on the efficiency of the economy. Read more

There can be little doubt that New Zealand house prices, particularly in Auckland, have reached eye-watering heights. This week it was reported that capital valuations in Auckland have risen 33 percent over the past three years. Read more

A wise man once said “I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.” That wise man was Bob Dylan. And while I’m not sure Bob Dylan would identify himself as such, these sentiments reveal a key facet of classical liberal thought: Freedom and responsibility go hand-in-hand. Read more

There is a groundswell happening in New Zealand schools. All around the country, schools are connecting up with each other, and with parents, to learn about what works to engage children in learning and to lift achievement. Read more

Economist Jean Tirole’s Nobel win on Monday is now perhaps old news. Marginal Revolution and the National Business Review have covered the theoretical work in industrial organisation and game theory that won Tirole the prize. Read more

Does a lower Kiwi dollar mean that foreigners will rush to buy up New Zealand’s 'cheap' assets? A recent article in The Herald raised this concern. Read more

Two countries, two successful internet entrepreneurs, two clashes with government. Last week we witnessed an epic Twitter battle between Trade Me founder Sam Morgan and Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce over the usefulness of research grants. Read more