Inflation is central government's responsibility. The Reserve Bank sets monetary policy, and monetary policy drives inflation. Read more
Like many businesses, Covid meant that The New Zealand Initiative had to continue to work differently. It also kept giving us extra policy challenges to address. Read more
Oliver Hartwich joins Ben Craven to discuss Germany’s response to the war in Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently threw out three decades’ worth of German foreign policy dogmas. Read more
The more things change, the more they stay the same. This is how Germany’s foreign and defence policy appears these days. Read more
Last week might not have seemed the best time for a 25 per cent increase in Canada’s carbon tax. Fuel prices there, like here, have been increasing. Read more
It’s hard to have a reasonable debate today. So, hats off to the Initiative team on your 10th birthday for always being up for a fight. Read more
Ten years ago, I had the privilege of launching The New Zealand Initiative. I believed then and believe more firmly now that New Zealand needs institutions independent of government and the public purse to broaden and deepen our intellectual life. Read more
Who would start a serious think tank on April Fools’ Day? Presumably someone with a good sense of humour. Read more
Oliver Hartwich joins Ben Craven on the podcast to reflect on ten years of The New Zealand Initiative. The pair discuss the highlights over the years, the Initiative’s influence on policy debates, and share with listeners a few hard-case stories along the way. Read more
A funny thing happened on the way to Wellington’s draft Economic Wellbeing Strategy. It’s a tale as old as time. Read more
There is potential value in having a country’s economic policies reviewed by international organisations. Done well, they provide residents with non-partisan expert perspectives. Read more
“Because there is no time for thinking and no rest in thinking, we no longer weigh divergent views; we’re content to hate them.” Friedrich Nietzsche wrote that back in 1878, but he could easily have been describing the early 2020s. Perhaps it was ever thus, but I can’t help feeling the problem Nietzsche was describing has recently got a lot worse. Read more
In rugby, injuries are all too common. Yet we can be certain that 15 players will start for the All Blacks in their next test. Read more
As the saying goes, everything in fashion eventually returns. And so it seems in the economy. Read more
Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking summarises the findings of our latest cost-of-living research, The rising cost of living for Kiwis.
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