OPINION

A few weeks ago I decided to look out for examples of economic fallacies that routinely appear in our media. It didn’t take long to make a list. Read more

It’s often said that “politics is the art of the possible”, usually by politicians who know they should be doing something in the overall national interest but aren’t willing or able to do it. The contrast is with Winston Churchill’s statement, “It is no use saying ‘we are doing our best’. Read more

A fundamental law of economics is that you can control the price of something or the quantity supplied, but not both. We saw that law in operation in the old Soviet system, with rationing and queues, and during the Muldoon wage and price freeze. Read more

Calls are mounting for the next phase of the government’s emissions trading scheme, due to commence on 1 July 2010, to be deferred. There are strong arguments for a temporary suspension of the scheme. Read more

Blimey, stone the crows! A few weeks ago something happened in Australia that I never believed possible. Read more

The annual budget is the main statement of the government’s overall economic and social programme. So in the first instance it needs to be evaluated in terms of the government’s own goals. Read more

Each year at about this time the OECD puts out a report on tax covering its member countries. Each year some media and politicians can be counted on to misinterpret it. Read more

As an example of poor quality public policy analysis, the Law Commission’s report on alcohol regulation will be a landmark for years to come. A 514-page doorstop, it ranks with the 1988 report of the Royal Commission on Social Policy which was dead on arrival. Read more

In a speech about New Zealand’s accident compensation scheme in 1996 I said, “The country was sold a pup which has turned into a pitbull terrier that mauls everyone it comes in contact with – accident victims, employers and politicians alike.” ACC minister Dr Nick Smith is just the last of a long line of ministers to inherit a scheme in financial crisis. There have been endless reviews of ACC since its inception. Read more

Business Roundtable executive director, the late Roger Kerr (1945-2011) spoke about the people and thinkers who influenced his ideas with Chris Laidlaw in 2009. The list is a mixture of the predictable and the surprising: Enlightenment economist Adam Smith, Roger's brother Alan (a surgeon who regularly spends time in Gaza volunteering his services), the philosopher Jean Paul Sartre, former Telecom boss Rod Deane, Shakespeare, economist Bryce Wilkinson and prominent American legal scholar Richard Epstein. Read more

Preparations for the 2010 budget will be underway in government circles. The 2010 Budget Policy Statement, which sets out the broad parameters, is due in December. Read more

Recently there have been renewed calls to tax capital gains on housing. Opposition leader Phil Goff has indicated Labour would be open to talks. Read more

The idea of progress – human flourishing in all its dimensions – has permeated Western thinking since ancient times. It has been defined as the belief that material, political, social, intellectual and moral conditions have continually improved throughout human history and that such an improvement will continue in the foreseeable future. Read more

A potentially important announcement by the government last month has not been widely reported. It took the form of a Government Statement on Regulation, which was released with an accompanying Cabinet paper. Read more

Holidays legislation has been a nightmare for many businesses since the Labour government amended the Holidays Act in 2003. A large-scale survey of 1500 enterprises by Business New Zealand in 2005 found that it had increased costs for 74% of respondents. Read more