New Zealand’s supermarket chains often get bad press and are suspiciously eyed by the public because, allegedly, they form a duopoly. With this characterisation comes the innuendo that they might be ripping off either their customers, their suppliers or both. Read more
Studying economics these days, it is quite possible to get a degree without ever having come across the name of a single economist. That is because economics is taught as a set body of knowledge without illuminating its insights by reference to the works, minds and times of the great economists. Read more
Within the workplace, there is a plethora of subjects we're more than willing to discuss freely and frankly with our peers. However, what we each earn is never one of them. Read more
It’s tough for parties in the opposition benches. They have been stripped of a major rod with which to beat National in an election year. Read more
Lately, a lot of people have been calling Social Development Minister Paula Bennett a beneficiary basher. Beneficiary bashing involves anything that sours public perceptions of beneficiaries, thereby justifying benefit cuts, limitations and restrictions. Read more
Inequality is the buzzword this election year. The usual vernacular is that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Read more
When searching for quotations about government, one thing quickly becomes clear: very few of them are positive. Thomas Jefferson, for example, put it this way: “History, in general, only informs us of what bad government is.” Or take Thomas Paine: “Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.” And these two quotes are actually some of the nicer ones you can find. Read more
In that faraway wonderland that it is the eurozone, nothing is quite what it seems. It is a strange place where half-bankrupt governments can plan a return to capital markets at moderate yields, and a central bank is able to impress analysts by talking about things it cannot do. Both instances are patently absurd, but just because something is absurd has never stopped it from happening in Europe. Read more
If we want to grow our businesses, whether by market share, profit, or offering customers better value, we need to grow our people - and growing people means growing big brains. Management guru Tom Peters, speaking at the New Zealand Initiative's annual retreat dinner recently, gave a resounding and impassioned speech on the importance to business of investing in people, first and foremost. Read more
If you are familiar with Harry Enfield’s legendary BBC television series, there was a character called Jürgen the German. A tourist to London, he started every conversation with an apology “for my country’s disgraceful behaviour during ze war” – only to then rant on about what’s wrong with Britain. Read more
This week the New Zealand Herald reported that Selwyn College has completely turned their figures around, lifting their NCEA Level 1 pass rate from 39 per cent in 2007, to 93 per cent in 2013. But could this relentless focus on figures – be it NCEA, National Standards, or Pisa – be ignoring what is most important? Read more
For professional reasons, Rachel Smalley may have had to quickly retract her unfortunate on-air slip, where she labelled New Zealand women ‘heifers’ and ‘lardos’, but the facts speak for themselves. According to the Ministry of Health, one-in-three adults in New Zealand is obese, with a Body Mass Index reading of 30 or more. Read more
Trying to explain economic freedom to someone living in an economically free country is like trying to explain to a fish what water is. Like a fish in water, when we are free we rarely stop to consider what freedom is, why it is important to our livelihood, and what would happen if it was ever taken away. Read more
By all measures, it was a defeat of historic proportions for President François Hollande and his Socialist Party. Last weekend’s French local elections have turned the country upside down, or rather shifted it to the political right. Read more
One of the principal arguments put forward for the development of Auckland into an international-sized city is that urban economies of scale generate better outcomes. This is called an agglomeration benefit, or rather the economic advantage that firms and people get from being situated closer to markets, suppliers and places of work. Read more