When businesses make investment decisions, they should make them on their own. Taking risks and reaping the rewards: that is what entrepreneurship is all about. Read more
Last week, I wrote about the political implications of the UK’s forthcoming referendum on EU membership (Cameron’s gamble could destroy his premiership — and the EU, 25 February 2016). Today, let’s take a closer look at what the British are voting on … and why your columnist is not sure what to wish for. Read more
Roger Partridge, chairman of The New Zealand Initiative interviews the think tank's executive director Dr Oliver Hartwich about his Business Spectator column and views on Brexit. Read more
Eight reasons why a Trump presidency may not be as bad as you imagine. Don’t get me wrong: it could, and likely will, still all go horribly, horribly wrong. Read more
Why is it so hard for people to agree on poverty? Despite a wealth of evidence, statistics and measurements of social indicators, there is still widespread disagreement about what poverty means in New Zealand. Read more
Recently we heard that government agencies are fudging the numbers to make themselves look better. Or as The Salvation Army's latest State of the Nation report argues, government statistics can be tweaked and manipulated to illustrate favourable results. Read more
You can sell just about anything with the right economic impact report. Just consider Sir Robert Jones’s presumably tongue-in-cheek proposal for a magnificent new statue on The Terrace. Read more
The old human sciences building on the grounds of the University of Auckland was affectionately known among my peers as The Dungeon. With its dingy basement corridors and eerie acoustics, it stood in stark contrast to the more recently-constructed business school, a colossal, contemporary glass structure. Read more
Poverty may be one of the most reported about and argued about topics in New Zealand. It also might be one of the most poorly understood topics. Read more
Poorly Understood recognises that poverty is a complex and multi-faceted issue. It presents an overview of poverty-related issues: its definitions; its measures; its causes; and its history. Read more
When David Cameron promised a referendum on his country’s membership of the EU, the British Prime Minister probably hoped he would never have to hold it. That was his first miscalculation. Read more
Our Executive Director, Dr Oliver Hartwich discusses poverty on Newstalk ZB following the launch of our report, Poorly Understood: The State of Poverty in New Zealand. Read more
Wellington (25 February 2016): New Zealand’s abundant poverty statistics should not be reduced to a single headline-grabbing number, a new report from The New Zealand Initiative argues. Poorly Understood: The state of poverty in New Zealand shows that poverty is a complex and multi-faceted issue and choosing attention-getting figures too often oversimplifies what is a very real problem. Read more
Jenesa Jeram, co-author of Poorly Understood: The state of poverty in New Zealand discusses the three things everyone should know about the report. Read more
The European Union has been in crisis for many years. Simultaneous sovereign debt, banking and monetary crises have tested the European institutions to the limit. Read more