One day I will write a book about countries and their irrational fears. The English are convinced they are running out of land – when less than 10 per cent of the country is developed. Read more
My two-day visit to Auckland and Wellington revealed that New Zealanders are conflicted as much, if not more than Australians, about the threats and opportunities of Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI). There are reasons to be wary, but the vast majority of Chinese FDI applications in New Zealand should be welcomed rather than shunned. Read more
Graeme Wheeler was recently appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand starting September 2012 for a five-year term. In the lead up to the appointment, the usual debates over the role of the central bank have resurfaced. Read more
Opponents of the concept of publishing school league tables advised this week that parents would be confused and misled by such information. Instead, they expect parents to study ERO reports, search school websites, browse through newsletters, interview teachers, and generally undertake their own due diligence to find out whether schools are turning out “kids who have taken control of their own learning” rather than just focusing on “readin’, writin’ and ‘rithmetic”, as one school principal put it. Read more
This week, the New Economic Foundation (NEF) released its third Happy Planet Index (HPI). New Zealand scored 51.6 and is ranked 28th out of 151 countries. Read more
For a committed market liberal it was a strange experience. There I was hoping for an election victory of the radical Syriza party in Greece’s general election. Read more
When Australian growth figures were released a fortnight ago, many in New Zealand sighed and carried on: the cross-Tasman brain drain – now 1000 people a week – was clearly set to continue apace. But will it? Read more
Far, far from the troubles at the home front, Prime Minister John Key was visibly enjoying the military honours and his joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on his visit to Berlin last week. A better use of his time would have been studying the effects of delaying superannuation reforms. Although last month’s Budget once again confirmed the rising costs of superannuation, the prime minister ruled out reneging on his 2008 campaign promise not to increase the age of eligibility. Read more
Far, far from the troubles at the home front, Prime Minister John Key was visibly enjoying the military honours and his joint press conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel on his visit to Berlin last week. A better use of his time would have been studying the effects of delaying superannuation reforms. Although last month’s budget once again confirmed the rising costs of superannuation, the Prime Minister ruled out reneging on his 2008 campaign promise not to increase the age of eligibility. Read more
Since the 1980s, New Zealand has had a relatively free and open economy. Abolishing most forms of protectionism has benefited consumers and made the economy more resilient. Read more
‘Charles pushes past Wills as preferred successor’, read a headline in the Herald last Sunday. Following a wave of enthusiasm after the Queen’s diamond jubilee and last year’s royal wedding, the question of who will succeed to the British throne continues to capture New Zealanders’ interest. Read more
Saying something genuinely new on the euro crisis is getting more difficult as time passes. The problems never change, only the sums involved. Read more
“A great city is not to be confounded with a populous one.” That’s not a new research finding but a quote by Aristotle (384-322 BC). It opened an event on Dunedin’s Economic Development Strategy on Tuesday, which I attended as a guest speaker. Read more
Budget 2012 continued National’s battle to control government spending by attrition rather than by ground-breaking reforms. This battle will be lost eventually because mere attrition increasingly mobilises thwarted spending interests, while preserving both their privileged positions and the mechanisms they can use to increase spending when attrition fatigue has set in. The Yes, Minister TV series made the point best: entrenched interests and bureaucracies outlast politicians. Read more
