The Crown Accounts are in better shape than had been expected when the Budget was set. That’s the good news. Read more
Our Prime Minister is a real star on the world stage. Capable, articulate, and charismatic, it’s no surprise that her latest foreign trip has won her further plaudits. Read more
It’s hard to write satire when politicians do all the work for you. Take the UK’s embattled Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng. Read more
Voting for local government should be simple. If you think that council has generally done a good job, support most incumbent candidates. Read more
For years, New Zealand productivity has been shortchanging the economy and therefore the country. Why is New Zealand outstripped by the rest of the first world countries, in particular Australia? Read more
The British Prime Minister received an unflattering open letter. Its signatories were 364 economists, all united in condemning her economic management. Read more
Oliver Hartwich chats with ACT’s Transport and Climate Change spokesperson Simon Court about the Clean Car Scheme and how it's adding bureaucracy, not reducing emissions. To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
Economist Dave Heatley finds himself in something of a quandary. New Zealand’s economists firmly support the Emissions Trading Scheme as the best way of achieving New Zealand’s net zero target. Read more
This episode of the Popperian Podcast features an interview that Jed Lea-Henry conducted with James Kierstead. From The Open Society and Its Enemies, later essays, and private letters, they speak about the meaning behind Karl Popper’s ‘paradox of tolerance’: “Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. Read more
The war in Europe is entering its most dangerous phase yet. Over the past week, we saw 300,000 Russian soldiers mobilised, scam referenda in Russian-occupied territories, and apparent bombings of the Nord Stream pipelines. Read more
Businesses should brace for next week’s return of the Government’s Fair Pay Agreements Bill. The Bill had its first reading in April. Read more
The Prime Minister has announced a new strategy for tackling inflation. The announcement follows recent legislation transferring responsibility for fiscal management from the Reserve Bank to the Ministry for the Environment. Read more
In this episode Michael Johnston hosts Oliver Hartwich and Eric Crampton to discuss various European crises and how New Zealand should be learning from, and not repeating, the European mistakes. To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
If you are a political reformer, New Zealand should be your oyster. You could turn around a failing education system. Read more
Wellington (Wednesday, 28 September 2022) – New Zealand’s economists strongly support the Emissions Trading Scheme and strengthening it through a carbon dividend. The latest survey of members of the New Zealand Association of Economists finds extraordinarily strong agreement that: Tightening the ETS’s cap on emissions makes far more sense than measures like fuel economy standards on imported vehicles (53% strongly agree, 35% agree, 5% disagree); If additional market failures are present, policies should target those directly to reduce the cost of mitigating emissions (24% strongly agree, 57% agree, 2% strongly disagree); A carbon dividend to households beats measures like electric vehicle subsidies or targeted regulations for ensuring equity (45% strongly agree; 48% agree; 2% disagree). Read more