The coronavirus lockdown is a challenge for every one of us. Every worker, family, charity, public institution and firm. Read more
The Covid-19 outbreak is quickly developing into an economic crisis. A top priority for the Government now is to maintain employment and ensure firms can quickly recover when the lockdown ends. Read more
The Government’s response to the global coronavirus pandemic is expected to lead to a deep recession. Many companies are faced with laying off employees. Read more
Eric Crampton talks to Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB about restarting the economy after the Covid-19 lockdown. Read more
The New Zealand Government’s Covid-19 policy needs to directly boost capabilities in the health sector while providing the kind of appropriate economic support necessary when we’re all taking a lengthy staycation and some industries are put on ice. Uncertainty about the duration of this crisis makes deciding on the most suitable policy difficult. Read more
These are times like no other. Unless you are well over 80, you would not remember an existential and comprehensive crisis like this. Read more
The pandemic-induced recession creates a strong case for the Government to support struggling workers with targeted assistance, rather than a Universal Basic Income (UBI), according to the new policy paper Stay on Target by The New Zealand Initiative. As the Government searches for fresh and innovative ideas to prepare for the worst economic effects of shutting down the country’s commerce over four weeks, it has tentatively proposed the introduction of a universal basic income scheme. Read more
Wellington, 27 March - The pandemic-induced recession creates a strong case for the Government to support struggling workers with targeted assistance, rather than a Universal Basic Income (UBI), according to the new policy paper Stay on Target by The New Zealand Initiative. As the Government searches for fresh and innovative ideas to prepare for the worst economic effects of shutting down the country’s commerce over four weeks, it has tentatively proposed the introduction of a universal basic income scheme. Read more
Wellington, 26 March 2020 – Mixing the New Zealand Initiative’s research with ideas from dozens of the largest Kiwi firms, the think tank has produced a comprehensive touchstone document on the best range of Covid-19 policy responses. Written by the Initiative’s chief economist Eric Crampton, with research assistance from Leonard Hong, Effective Treatment: Public policy prescription for a pandemic warns that without sound, quick and careful policy adjustments implemented by the Government, New Zealand risks slipping into a deep recession. Read more
Asking the public for submissions on pending legislation while the country is in pandemic lockdown risks making a farce of democracy and unnecessarily distracting the Government, according to a new policy paper by the New Zealand Initiative. The business of government must go on, said the Initiative’s chief economist Dr Eric Crampton, but politicians can afford to put less urgent matters aside for the time being. Read more
Wellington, 26 March - Asking the public for submissions on pending legislation while the country is in pandemic lockdown risks making a farce of democracy and unnecessarily distracting the Government, according to a new policy paper by the New Zealand Initiative. The business of government must go on, said the Initiative’s chief economist Dr Eric Crampton, but politicians can afford to put less urgent matters aside for the time being. Read more
Unless effective treatment for the novel coronavirus Covid-19 emerges quickly, the world faces not only misery but economic depression. New Zealand will be immune to neither. Read more
Eric Crampton looked at potential economic policy responses to the Covid-19 pandemic in his regular Radio New Zealand Nights slot, Read more
Milton Friedman was wrong about the euro currency. Before its introduction, the godfather of monetarism predicted Europe’s monetary union would not survive its first recession. Read more
The Covid-19 outbreak is quickly developing into an economic crisis. Maintaining employment and the ability of firms to recover quickly when the crisis abates is critically important given that labour markets in several European countries are yet to fully recover from the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008. Read more