It is summer in Germany, and traditionally that is not good news. Or rather, it is not a good time for news. Read more
Central banks globally have made serious monetary policy mistakes, and to restore credibility, they must acknowledge and correct those mistakes. Oliver Hartwich interviews co-authors Graeme Wheeler and Bryce Wilkinson about their new policy paper How central bank mistakes after 2019 led to inflation. Read more
A research note released today by The New Zealand Initiative mainly attributes the outbreak of inflation in many economies to central bank mistakes. Co-authored by Graeme Wheeler, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and Bryce Wilkinson, Senior Research Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative, the paper argues that central banks overall: were too confident about their monetary policy framework; were too confident about their models; were too confident they could control output and employment; lost their focus on price stability and took on too many mandates; faced conflicts in some cases with conflicting ‘dual mandate’ objectives; and were distracted by extraneous political objectives, such as climate change. Read more
Central banks globally have made serious monetary policy mistakes To restore credibility, they must acknowledge and correct those mistakes Wellington (Tuesday, 26 July 2022) – A research note released today by The New Zealand Initiative mainly attributes the outbreak of inflation in many economies to central bank mistakes. Co-authored by Graeme Wheeler, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and Bryce Wilkinson, Senior Research Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative, the paper argues that central banks overall: were too confident about their monetary policy framework; were too confident about their models; were too confident they could control output and employment; lost their focus on price stability and took on too many mandates; faced conflicts in some cases with conflicting ‘dual mandate’ objectives; and were distracted by extraneous political objectives, such as climate change. Read more
Budget 2022 allocated just over $2.5 million a year, over four years, to the Customs Service to help it stop cigarette smuggling. I wonder whether it will be enough. Read more
Just one third of the students participating in a pilot of new literacy and numeracy assessments for NCEA passed the writing assessment, and only two thirds passed each of the reading and numeracy assessments. Michael Johnston talks to Michael Laws, The Platform about the alarming results. Read more
Don’t get me wrong, I love watching The Chase. However, I wish Stuff had covered New Zealand’s deteriorating education standards instead of running a series of long articles on a British TV trivia show this week. Read more
A long queue of people form a circle. Each has a coin purse slung over a shoulder. Read more
Inflation in New Zealand has been on the rise (7.3 percent last quarter) as have the attempts to explain it. The RBNZ points to strong global economic activity, supply disruptions, and the Ukraine war. Read more
New Zealand’s economic and social decline is slowly receiving greater recognition amongst journalists and commentators. The litany of woes is daunting. Read more
Oliver Hartwich interviews historians James Kierstead and Matthew Birchall, two new colleagues at the Initiative. To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich appears on The Bolt Report, Sky News, to discuss the bleak economic outlook for New Zealand. Read more
What does an unemployment rate of 3.2 per cent have in common with apples rotting on the trees in orchards? Both are signs of an overheated labour market. Read more
If there were no better way of solving the problem, one could forgive how central government has approached water infrastructure reform. Some councils have done a very poor job in maintaining their pipes. Read more
Just one third of the students participating in a pilot of new literacy and numeracy assessments for NCEA passed the writing assessment, and only two thirds passed each of the reading and numeracy assessments. Michael Johnston talks to Andrew Dickens, Newstalk ZB about the these alarming results and what needs to be done about it. Read more