Despite considerable government investment in tertiary education and training, New Zealand has seen sustained and substantial shortages of skill labour. Norman LaRocque looks at the reasons behind this and outlines the policy environment necessary to address the skills deficit. Read more
Taxation generates various administrative, avoidance, compliance and rent-seeking costs. Alex Robson explains how these ‘deadweight losses’ affect the incentives faced by workers and investors to engage in productive economic activity and how moving to a flatter tax structure would reduce these losses and increase economic growth. Read more
This paper is intended as an introduction to the topic of public policy. Contributing to the development of good public policies for New Zealand is central to the mission of the New Zealand Business Roundtable. Read more
Proponents of income redistribution generally see it as the easy solution to poverty and inequality, and believe all that is needed is the political will to act. But, as Mark Harrison points out in this empirical study of the effects of the income redistribution, they rarely question how effective it is. Read more
So far yet so close is the sixth paper in a series that forms part of the New Zealand Institute’s research project on Creating a global New Zealand economy. This paper follows on from our first five papers No country is an island, Dancing with the stars?, The flight of the Kiwi, Developing Kiwi global champions, and Competing to win. Read more
In terms of revenue, spending and assets, many councils rank with New Zealand’s largest enterprises: ratepayers’ equity is a massive $67 billion, or $16,300.00 per capita. This report points to the very large increases in rates payable by households and businesses over recent years. Read more
The draft New Zealand Curriculum adopts an intellectually flawed ‘outcome-based’ education model. This is an approach which prevailed in the late 1980s and early 1990s and has now been largely discredited and abandoned by countries with successful education systems. Kevin Donnelly advocates the internationally proven syllabus or standards-based approaches and argues that continuing to ignore the large body of international evidence in this area will put future generations of New Zealand students at risk. Read more
A collection of speeches given by Sir Ronald Trotter between 1986 and 2002 on behalf of the New Zealand Business Roundtable. Read more
Some environmentalists believe that a pristine environment is a goal to be achieved regardless of the costs to human communities. Suri Ratnapala explains the need to balance threats to the environment with the threat to constitutional government that arises from ill-advised policy responses to the challenges of environmental protection. Read more
Competing to win is the fifth paper in a series that forms part of the New Zealand Institute’s research project on Creating a global New Zealand economy. This paper follows on from our first four papers No country is an island, Dancing with the stars?, The flight of the Kiwi, and Developing Kiwi global champions. Read more
Developing Kiwi global champions is the fourth paper in a series that forms part of the New Zealand Institute’s research project on Creating a global New Zealand economy. This paper follows on from our first three papers No country is an island, Dancing with the Stars?, and The flight of the Kiwi. Read more
In An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith argued that there was a virtuous circle that led to increased prosperity. The source of economic growth and development was the gains from specialisation and trade realised through the greater division of labour and the expansion of the market economy. Read more
The three essential elements of successful school choice policies are: the freedom to open, expand and close schools in response to increased or reduced demand; funding following the student, putting all schools on the same footing; and independent management, so that schools are free to innovate in areas such as teaching practices, teacher pay, and school organisation. The report draws on a wide range of evidence including a study of the impact of Chicago’s charter schools on the environment. Read more
The flight of the Kiwi is the third paper in a series that forms part of the New Zealand Institute's research project on Creating a global New Zealand economy. This paper follows on from our first two papers No country is an island and Dancing with the stars?. Read more
Modest growth in New Zealand is not the result of an overdose of reforms or bad cultural attitudes. The problem, in short, is that the reform process has not been completed, and needs to be continued and extended. Read more