It was an urgent warning that German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung published last week. Its authors warned of rising inflation, “massive social upheavals” and further political polarisation. Read more
The Government is turning its attention from low-skilled migrant workers and focusing more on 'high roller investors', with hundreds expected to arrive as a result of the new border exemptions. But the Government has sent a message saying industries that rely on low-skilled will need to change their ways. Read more
Potential skilled migrants deserve a few warnings about what they are getting into in moving to New Zealand – the kinds of disclosures that are often mandatory in the private sector to ensure consumers can make informed decisions The Fair Trading Act’s provisions against deceptive and misleading conduct do not seem to apply to Immigration New Zealand. Caveat emptor. Read more
In our latest podcast, Eric Crampton sits down with Graeme Jarvis, CEO of Medicines NZ for an in-depth chat about IP issues around the Covid-19 vaccines and how bottlenecking supply is keeping us from getting the world vaccinated.
Listen to the full podcast below (28 minutes):
The New Zealand Initiative · Eric Crampton and Graeme Jarvis discuss Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing and distribution Read more
New Zealand’s housing shortage causes a lot of misery. An inflexible housing system makes it very hard for supply to respond to changes in demand. Read more
The third column in our Insights newsletter is meant to be lighter. Something a bit wry or humorous – an amuse-bouche to close out the week. Read more
A worker producing $30 worth of widgets per hour but receiving a salary of $40 per hour would soon lose his job. No employer would be willing to subsidise their employees like that. Read more
Following the Government's annoucement, Roger Partridge and Oliver Hartwich discuss how Fair Pay Agreements are likely to harm productivity and would not be in the interests of workers, the unemployed, consumers, and overall wellbeing. Read our 2019 report, Work in Progress: Why Fair pay Agreements would be bad for labour. Read more
The Prime Minister is delivering on her main promise. Before the 2017 election, Jacinda Ardern promised to lead a "transformational" government. Read more
Vaccine access campaigners get one very big and very important thing very right. If only the richer part of the world can afford Covid vaccinations, the costs will not be borne only by people in poorer countries suffering from ongoing waves of illness and misery. Read more
On Radio NZ Nights Eric Crampton asks if waiving vaccine patents will improve worldwide access to a covid vaccine in reality, or are the bottlenecks found elsewhere in the system?
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In a recent column for Newsroom (4 May 2021), Oliver Hartwich wrote about Europe, and whether its recovery will be worse than the recession. He wrote that the Covid-19 pandemic has not caused an ordinary recession - at least not in Europe. Read more
Last week, The New Zealand Initiative released a paper outlining the perils of rent controls. It was fun to reminisce about our first year of economics study. Read more
Recently, you have been really responsible with your finances. You stopped buying chicken paninis, cut back on the flat whites, and eating out at KFC. Read more
What is it about climate change that turns august institutions into the intellectual equals of quivering jellyfish? Last week, Germany's highest court upheld a constitutional complaint against the Federal Government on climate change. Read more