Back in 1968, economist Friedrich Hayek wrote that competition is a discovery procedure. Some information about the world simply would not exist without the process of market competition that discovers it. Read more
Can market forces help get the chores done? Chief Economist Dr Eric Crampton discusses the economics of parenting with Barry Crump on the Radio New Zealand Nights programme. Read more
Insights 47/ December 13: A year of delivery Insights 46/ December 6: PISA backs teacher led learning | Freedom of speech | Scientific Literacy Insights 45/ November 29: MBIE seats the unions | Sustainable litigation | One-up Australia Insights 44/ November 22: Ignorance is not bliss | Getting wellbeing right | Three cheers for no applause Insights 43/November 15: The proposals for Tomorrow’s Schools | Policing by consent | Out of puff Insights Extra/November 9: Socialism 2.0 - 30 years after the Wall Insights 42/November 8: Zero Carbon Bill fails the climate | The Price is Right | Intense History Insights 41/November 1: Lessons from Thuringia | A Deep Origin of Illiteracy | Public Health Priorities Insights 40/October 25: Greta is right | Will the Grinch steal Brexit? | Saving our roads Insights 39/October 18: Let Sanity Prevail | In Praise of Scientific Evidence | The Tender Years Insights 38/October 11: Rediscovering the West | Keep your (bit)coins | Extinction Rebellion Insights 37/October 4: Anniversaries | Tiptoeing towards a national curriculum | Take Back The Clocks Insights 36/September 27: In Fairness to Our Schools | Property rights and Ihumatao blues | Local Attention Insights 35/September 20: Administering monetary medicine | Looking-Glass Economics | Ms. Monopoly Insights 34/September 13: When comedy meets ignorance | Kia Kaha te Reo Maori | Brenter Insights 33/September 6: Durable institutions matter | Clearing the roads | Vape and mirrors Insights 32/August 30: Speak your mind| Hands-on | Drinking freedom Insights 31/ August 23: Housing despair | Living after midnight | We Prefer Potato! Read more
Standard organisational theory explains the differences between an organisation’s objective (or its goal) and the strategies and tactics it adopts to achieve its objective. If an organisation confuses these concepts, it risks jeopardising its goal. Read more
Cabinet’s decisions announced today by Finance Minister Grant Robertson to reform the governance and accountability arrangements of the Reserve Bank are commendable. Key among the decisions is establishing a governance board that will be responsible for all functions of the Reserve Bank, except those undertaken by the Monetary Policy Committee. Read more
Last week, Labour finally began delivering on its urban growth agenda. Housing affordability was one of the two main themes of the 2017 election. Read more
A giant is dead. Paul Volcker died this week, aged 92. Read more
The Prime Minister had declared 2019 “the year of delivery”. Voters will eventually judge the government on whether it has succeeded. Read more
Following the Government's announcement of the $12 billion for infrastructure, Dr Eric Crampton discusses on Radio New Zealand about the need to enable other ways of financing infrastructure on a stable basis rather than constantly relying on infrastructure deficits hitting near-crisis levels.
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The more things change, the more they stay the same -- or so the saying goes. The expression could not be a more apt description of what we are witnessing at the Reserve Bank. Read more
When Christine Lagarde became president of the European Central Bank in November, she inherited a challenging legacy from her predecessor Mario Draghi. The ECB’s key people are openly divided on the future direction of monetary policy. Read more
There was something in the original plans for the post-earthquake Christchurch downtown rebuild that never really made much sense. Well, there were a lot of things that never made any sense, both in the plans and in practice, and that's why a lot of business fled to the suburbs. Read more
Over the past few months, you could not drive through any of our big cities without seeing some strange advertising messages. They were strange because, in our world of doom and gloom, they were spreading good news. Read more
It can take courage to champion what you believe in. Especially when your views are at odds with those of the crowd. Read more
Confirmation came this week that New Zealand’s once world-leading school system continues its steady decline. Ever since the OECD began testing the educational performance of 15-year olds in the early 2000s, New Zealand students have performed progressively worse in all three assessed areas of reading, maths and science. Read more
