OPINION

What is the raison d’etre of a city? Is it to provide parks and cafes, theatres and libraries? Read more

Two years ago, three words by the European Central Bank’s President Mario Draghi ended the panic around the euro crisis: “Whatever it takes”. When Draghi said these words at an event in London -- meaning that his institution was prepared to use unconventional (and potentially unlimited) ways to stabilise the euro system -- it halted the escalating crisis. Read more

Last night, The New Zealand Initiative released a new book, New Zealand by Numbers. Its first aim is to counter the perception that New Zealand is a country riddled with problems. Instead, it celebrates positive developments within our nation that happen too slowly to make the headlines. Read more

Among the raft of data our researchers have compiled for New Zealand by Numbers, there are quite a few surprising facts about New Zealand. Most of us would be aware of the big trends facing this country: the changing face of our population, our increasing interaction with Asia, or the increasing importance of digital technology for the way in which we communicate and receive our news. Read more

Economics would be a pale imitation of itself without volatility, or at the very least about as stimulating as watching paint dry. Luckily the world is a complicated place, where prices fluctuate for various reasons, and this, for the most part, is a good thing. Read more

An article recently published by the New Zealand Listener, Child support that works, asserts that the existing system of child support "is next to useless at reducing poverty" - because, to a large extent "Government simply takes the child support to offset the benefit".Yet this is exactly what should happen if the purpose of the benefit is to top up inadequate child-support payments by non-custodial parents. Child-support payments allow more children to be supported than could be funded otherwise. Read more

At first glance, the following two news stories may seem like they have nothing to do with each other except that they happened over the past few days. On Monday, the International Monetary Fund once again admonished Germany for being too competitive, as demonstrated by its enormous current account surplus. Read more

Only a handful of phrases that instantly provoke an angry reaction from me. And while I am grateful the list is limited, some entries are now common. Read more

This year both National and Labour announced education policies that aim to strengthen school leadership and collaboration. National is putting far more resource behind their policy, but Labour has a big advantage: they are better at getting buy-in from teachers. Read more

Perhaps it is a sign that I am getting old(er) but I am just astonished by the speed of technological progress. The most recent example is a memory card I ordered for my new smartphone. Read more

Economist John Stuart Mill saw utility as “the feelings of pain and pleasure”. The utility, or usefulness, of something depends on how much it satisfies a person's needs or wants. Read more

Later this month, at a conference organised by a global asset management firm, I will be participating in a debate on the moot that investment markets are driven by factors other than financial fundamentals. So far, all I know is that I will be arguing the case for the affirmative. Read more

Labour has been busy announcing a series of election promises for education: helping parents provide digital devices for every child, covering school donations, and the latest – reducing class sizes. The first two attempt to address issues of inequality of opportunity for school students; wealthier families are more able to provide their children with modern learning tools, and school donations represent much less of a burden on the household budget than for less affluent parents. Read more

I am probably inviting a storm of controversy, but I think the perfect motif for the movie industry profession should not be film reel, but a figure with their hand wedged deeply in the taxpayer’s pocket. Sir Peter Jackson recently bemoaned that funding levels for film production in New Zealand have remained at about $12 million per annum since the late 1980s even as the cost of production has risen. Read more

Over the last week, Labour have announced an impressive array of educational policies. While it is impossible to comment on every single proposal, two of their major initiatives – on digital devices and class sizes – are worth discussion. Read more