This morning, Newsroom published a story concerning a private and anonymous blog by one of our staff, Nathan Smith. Nathan joined us earlier this year from the National Business Review, where he had worked as a journalist for seven years. Read more
There are those who say that government can only give away the produce of the productive. There are those who say that government can spend up to national income, but not beyond. Read more
New Zealand is now below average for all but one international education TIMSS measure. Released this week, the 2019 Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) reveals Kiwi 10-year-olds are now the only group of students performing above the international average in science. Read more
As that great philosopher Homer Simpson once said, “Just because I don’t care doesn’t mean I don’t understand.” For climate policy debates, it is a bit different. Most people do care about cutting carbon emissions, but they still do not understand how it works. Read more
In this Quick Take podcast, Roger Partridge outlines the core arguments from his Herald column on Australia’s success against Covid-19 and why setting up a trans-Tasman bubble should now be a government priority. If you would like to listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
Wellington, 10 December 2020 - Thanks to the work of successive climate change ministers from David Parker to James Shaw, New Zealand has a world-leading Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). We should rely on it to drive down our carbon emissions, argues the Initiative’s executive director Dr Oliver Hartwich. Read more
Thanks to the work of successive climate change ministers from David Parker to James Shaw, New Zealand has a world-leading Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). We should rely on it to drive down our carbon emissions, argues the Initiative’s executive director Dr Oliver Hartwich. Read more
In this Quick Take podcast, Matt Burgess says small countries depend heavily on access to international markets. He argues the government should embrace international co-operation on reducing emissions. Read more
In this episode of the New Zealand Initiative podcast, Eric Crampton talks with University of Waikato economics professor John Gibson about a worrying draft report from the Productivity Commission and NZIER which suggests seasonal workers in the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme should be scaled back. If you would like to listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
Decades ago, sociologist Joel Best wrote about how to lie with statistics. The best tricks are those where a statement is word-for-word true but has nothing to do with reality. Read more
The sounds of cricket on the radio are already wafting over campgrounds around the country. Who would wish to spend the holidays anywhere else in the world? Read more
Last week, the Helen Clark Foundation and the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research released a joint report (the HCF&NZIER report) calling for a higher minimum wage to reduce inequality and lift productivity. The minimum wage increased from $17.70 to $18.90 in April of this year. Read more
In this episode of the New Zealand Initiative podcast operations director Chelsy Killick and executive director Oliver Hartwich share their experiences with researching the problems with Kiwi education. Both have been with the Initiative for its entire eight year existence, and during that time, have chronicled the deterioration of education since they were at school in New Zealand and in Germany. Read more
As Mark Twain once quipped: “Lack of money is the root of all evil.” And so entered the governor of the Reserve Bank of Transformable. “Suffer all those short of cash to come unto me,” quoth he. Read more
Kiwi students are not learning the literacy skills they need and now some schools are paying from their own pocket in a desperate attempt to reverse the dismal trend. Both domestic and international data show a major problem in New Zealand literacy levels. Read more