An Overseas Experience is almost a rite of passage for Kiwis. Unfortunately, Covid-19 is likely to keep borders mostly shut for another year or two. Read more
The Covid-19 crisis has quickly evolved from a health issue into an economic threat. The science was largely clear about what should be done to combat a pandemic, although historians will be the judge of those decisions, but there are plenty of competing ideas now about how to protect the economy after a pandemic. Read more
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To understand the mindset of European elites, it is worth going back to the words of the founding godfather or European integration, Jean Monnet: “Europe will be forged in crises and will be the sum of the solutions adopted for those crises." Monnet’s spirit of integration was alive in last week’s proposal to create a €750 billion fund to deal with the fallout of the coronavirus crisis. It is a gutsy move which pushes European fiscal integration to a new level. Read more
The North Island’s drought is getting rather serious. Auckland’s urban water users have been urged to take shorter showers and only to use dishwashers and clothes washing machines when they’re full; they also have been banned from using water-blasters and garden hoses. Read more
Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan deserve praise for fighting Covid-19. While Singapore and South Korea were hit with a second outbreak, their robust containment measures have kicked back in to stop rapid spread of the virus once more. Read more
When told the French peasants had no bread during a famine, the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, is said to have exclaimed “Qu'ils mangent de la brioche!" – loosely translated as “Let them eat cake!” Last week’s calls for extra holidays to support the ailing tourism industry are just as out of touch. New Zealand is a nation of small businesses. Read more
As we all navigate our way through this crisis, we are in uncharted territory. We cannot base our actions on experience because no-one has ever lived through a scenario like this. Read more
To prepare for the next pandemic, New Zealand has plenty to learn. But only a handful of developed countries might offer some key lessons, since most nations have been hit hard by Covid-19. Read more
National Party leader Todd Muller has said that the party will pledge pushing up the age of eligibility progressively from 65 to 67 starting in 2037. Eric Crampton joins The Panel to discuss the implications and the difference this will make to economy. Read more
It was in 1986 when Paul Keating, then Australia’s Treasurer, made a famous remark: “If this Government cannot get the adjustment, get manufacturing going again, and keep moderate wage outcomes and a sensible economic policy, then Australia is basically done for,” Keating warned on the John Laws radio programme. “We will just end up being a third-rate economy, a banana republic.” In hindsight, Keating might have exaggerated. Read more
One of the ideas to boost the economy in a post-Covid world is to reopen the borders for international students. Eric Crampton tells Ryan Bridge on The AM Show that New Zealand’s relatively safe status gives the tertiary sector a real opportunity to become a more desirable destination for international students. Read more
Kiwis are very likely heading into the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. But the nature of this downturn harkens back to even earlier business cycles. Read more
Since the first cases of the Covid-19 virus emerged in the Chinese province of Wuhan, several East Asian countries including Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan have successfully 'flattened the curve' of infection rates. The three countries used common public policies in the first 50 days since each registered their 100th case. Read more
Wellington 25 May 2020 - To prepare for the next virus pandemic, New Zealand has plenty to learn from the successes of three East Asian states, according to a summary report from The New Zealand Initiative. Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan all successfully “flattened the epidemiological curve” early in their Covid-19 pandemic responses. Read more