In an NBR article last week I wrote about scams in the form of public misinformation about economic inequality in New Zealand. The first one I mentioned was the assertion that inequality here has risen faster than in any other country “in recent years”. Read more
As a follow-up to our recently released report, What's the Catch?, Dr Randall Bess travelled overseas to the USA to learn more about fisheries management. One of the places he stopped was along the California coast, where he met with representatives of The Nature Conservancy, and learnt about a diver-led initiative to assist with the management of red abalone. Read more
As a follow-up to The New Zealand Initiative's recently released report, What's the Catch?, Randall Bess is travelling overseas to research some of the different ways recreational fisheries are managed. In his overseas travels, he first visited the remote northern California coastline. Read more
If you are familiar with The Adventures of Asterix, you probably remember the beginning: “The year is 50 BC. Gaul is entirely occupied by the Romans. Read more
1. Don’t like capitalism? Read more
This week the United Nations named Wonder Woman honorary ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls. Apparently she “will be tasked with raising awareness about Goal 5 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals”. Read more
If the mystification around the low local election turnout was not strong enough a signal that officials just do not get local government, the latest freedom camper rules review should amp it up. The government is anticipating a deluge of freedom campers over the summer and at next year’s British and Irish Lions tour. Read more
Science has it that you are more likely to remember the minute details of losing money, losing friends, and receiving criticism than you are about winning money, making friends, and receiving praise. This may explain recent editorial furore and media commentaries recounting all the failures of the Minister of Education, Hekia Parata, following her announcement that she will not be contesting in the 2017 elections. Read more
Economist Eric Crampton is appalled by the suggestion that there be any government money put into Joseph Parker's next fight. He joins the panel to express his digust on the matter. Read more
John Steinbeck once said that any man who pits his intelligence against a fish and loses had it coming. While a novice fisher might find this saying humorous, a veteran likely won’t, since much can be said about the challenges of fishing for sport. Read more
If income inequality is not rising in New Zealand, but enough voters think it is, do inequality concerns still matter? This week The New Zealand Initiative released The Inequality Paradox: Why inequality matters even though it has barely changed. Read more
Equipping today’s students with the skills needed for tomorrow’s jobs is perhaps the 21st century’s greatest challenge. But how confident are we that our tertiary education sector can innovate to meet the future needs of students? Read more
The public is constantly told income inequality is rising and the government should do something. A recent NZ Listener article asserted inequality had risen faster “in recent years” than in almost any other developed country. Read more
There is an inequality paradox in New Zealand. Despite increasingly frequent newspaper headlines on inequality, the data shows that inequality in income and inequality in consumption have not changed substantially for at least a decade. Read more
Wellington (18 October 2016): New Zealand’s inequality crisis is actually a housing crisis, a new report by The New Zealand Initiative says. Launched today, ‘The Inequality Paradox: Why inequality matters even though it has barely changed’ finds that too many New Zealanders are suffering real hardship, and this is largely due to very high housing costs. Read more