In a year of bad news, the past few weeks were a welcome exception. Pfizer’s announcement of a potentially effective Covid-19 vaccine opens a path back to normal life. Read more
New Zealand has long struggled with housing affordability. Since 2000, real house prices nearly trebled. Read more
Wellington, 12 November 2020 - The prime minister is wrong to just blame returning Kiwis for rising house prices, according to a research note by the New Zealand Initiative. During an interview with Mike Hosking last week, prime minister Jacinda Ardern said New Zealanders coming home after Covid-19 was a major factor in record levels of home lending. Read more
This episode of the Freely Speaking podcast features executive director Oliver Hartwich, chief economist Eric Crampton, senior economist Matt Burgess and senior fellow Bryce Wilkinson. The team unpicks the strange lack of deep conversation in New Zealand and why Kiwis seem so reluctant to talk about the big issues. Read more
Mike Hosking comments on the high cost of the Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme and the government's reaction. He refers to our previous work in this area. Read more
On Newstalk ZB, Mike Hosking talks about excellence and appraises Oliver Hartwich's latest NZ Herald article "In search of kiwi excellence". The full NZ Herald article can be read here. Read more
Senior Economist Matt Burgess joins Nathan Smith to discuss the government’s pursuit of a $4 billion-plus pumped hydro scheme in Central Otago. If you would like to listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
One of the first management books I ever read was Tom Peters’ A Passion for Excellence. I must have received it in the late 1980s from a family friend. Read more
If you really want to spoil your next pleasant weekend urban walk, here’s a suggestion. Pull out your phone, open homes.co.nz and check the estimated prices of every house along the way. Read more
In this episode of the New Zealand Initiative’s “Freely Speaking” podcast, around the table is executive director Oliver Hartwich, chief economist Eric Crampton, senior economist Matt Burgess and senior fellow Bryce Wilkinson. The team unpacks the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s curious steps into climate change politics and mulls over the central bank's real mandate. Read more
There is something special about Adele, Madonna and Sia. Because these pop divas are only ever referred to by their first names. Read more
It can be tough to know what to make of events as they happen on election days. In New Zealand, the task of working out who is winning is fairly simple. Read more
A Joe Biden Presidency looks increasingly likely. But the election was nail-bitingly close. Read more
The resurgence of Covid-19 in Europe is ending hopes of a quick recovery from a-sharp “V-shaped” recession. Will it be a U-shaped recession, an L-shaped recession? Read more
When Odysseus sailed the treacherous waters between the monsters Scylla and Charybdis, he just had to survive. Holding onto a fig tree, Odysseus eventually made it through. Read more