I was told the story of a teacher in Ontario who reluctantly participated in a project to improve her students’ learning. After several months she found that “her students performed better than she had even expected herself.” When she told her story, she wept. Read more
Privatisation provides an interesting case study for free-marketeers. Almost everyone is opposed to the notion, yet those same people often buy the stock. Read more
It’s another week in the never-ending euro crisis. There is talk about the need for another Greek haircut before the end of the year. Read more
When the financial crisis started about six years ago, the global policy response was a mixture of monetary and fiscal stimulus. Governments increased spending and hoped for multiplier effects. Read more
There are many facets to New Zealand’s housing affordability conundrum, but the bottom line is there is a shortage of houses, and there is a shortage of new houses (dwellings) being built. Supply is not meeting demand as in other markets and prices are absorbing the difference. Read more
The week when I was due to meet Michael Gove, The week when I was due to meet Michael Gove, England’s controversial Secretary of State for Education, New Zealand’s own Minister of Education, Hekia Parata, released a damning review of the New Zealand Teachers Council (NZTC) alongside a proposal to reform it into a more professional body. This was timely. Read more
At least in principle, there is widespread agreement that New Zealand should aim to increase its exports – whether you subscribe to the government’s target of 40 percent of GDP by 2025 or not. There is less agreement on how such an exports boost could be realistically achieved and which sectors are most likely to drive it. Read more
What is a reasonable price for a home? This is the question around which much debate over housing has evolved. Read more
Last Wednesday, the European Commission released a set of economic policy recommendations in its very own style. Written in the usual diplomatic and legal prose of utmost transparency, and available in all the European Union’s official languages, it told each individual member state which reforms needed to be tackled if Europe ever wanted to return to growth and full employment. Read more
When New Zealand First leader Winston Peters delivered his ‘Supercity of Sin’ speech last Friday, it was a frontal assault on Chinese migration. Despite his protestations that he and his party were not anti-China, or even anti-migration, the dog-whistling was all too clear. Read more
When New Zealand First leader Winston Peters delivered his ‘Supercity of Sin’ speech last Friday, it was a frontal assault on Chinese migration. Despite his protestations that he and his party were not anti-China, or even anti-migration, the dog-whistling was all too clear. Read more
It is a difficult time for social democrats. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and liberalisation programmes here and abroad, old school socialists and social democrats have struggled to come to terms with the changing tides of time. Read more
By now, householders must be used to being exhorted by politicians, economists, and international agencies to save more. Yet, some policies encourage them to borrow in order to save or invest. Read more
Education Minister Hekia Parata released a discussion paper with recommendations for reforming the New Zealand Teachers’ Council. The paper firmly acknowledges the importance of teachers. Read more
Since moving across the ditch to New Zealand last year, I have been astonished by how often a potential Trans-Tasman currency union is seriously discussed on this side of the Tasman. In Australia, the issue hardly seems to excite anyone – probably also because Australians have more important things to do than worry about New Zealand. Read more