Judging by the excitement the Government’s announcement on social bonds has created, a revolution in social services must be just around the corner. According to critics like Labour’s Annette King, social bonds amount to a covert “privatisation”of the sector. Read more
New Zealand schoolkids' performance on international maths tests leaves a bit to be desired. Both the Programme for International Student Assessment test (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the two main global benchmarks, show declining scores. Read more
All eyes are on Greece again this week. The Greek debt crisis was on the agenda of the G7 meeting in Germany last week, and discussed on the sides of a Europe and Latin America summit in Brussels. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich on 2GB Radio on public broadcasting. Read more
Last week saw a bustle of reports showing, once again, that maths learning is not up to scratch in New Zealand. A report commissioned by the Ministry of Education found that in 2013, 41% of Year 8 students were not achieving in maths at the expected level, with holes in fractions, decimals, percentages, and pro-numerals. Read more
It is too early to judge social bonds, writes Jenesa Jeram. For a concept few people had heard of before, social bonds have attracted a fair bit of criticism very quickly. Read more
This week, the OECD released its economic survey of New Zealand. Its 149 pages provide a comprehensive overview of the New Zealand economy, its strengths and weaknesses. Read more
The death of Lecretia Seales and Justice David Collins’ ruling that it is Parliament’s job to decide on the right to death has again breathed life into the controversial topic of euthanasia. ACT leader and MP David Seymour has seized on this momentum and promised to file a private member’s bill on the issue in the next few weeks. Read more
From mammoth bone huts in 16,000 BC and 3rd century French chateaux, to modern 20th century pre-fab, the evolution of housing through the centuries makes for pretty fascinating stuff. Skip to the 21st century and a Chinese construction company has developed a process for 3D-printing houses. Read more
Author Rose Patterson describes the findings of her new report, Un(ac)countable: Why millions on maths returned little. The report covers the history of the government's Numeracy Project implemented in most primary schools 15 years ago, at a cost of $70m. Read more
Once upon a time, television was a different business. Not only was it broadcast in black and white, but you could also count the number of channels on the fingers of one hand (and sometimes on just one finger). Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich on Newstalk ZB Larry Williams dicusses OECD's report on New Zealand. Read more
Wellington (10 June 2015): The OECD’s recent report on New Zealand has highlighted the urgent need to untangle the Resource Management Act (RMA), which has snared the housing marketing in a spiral of ever-rising prices, according to The New Zealand Initiative. The public policy think tank said the findings of the bi-annual report resonated with much of its own research, particularly where zoning regulations have constrained the supply of new houses and pushed up prices. Read more
Later this month the Wellington City Council is expected to require all council-owned businesses and contractors to pay their employees a living wage if they don’t already as part of the long term planning process. To some, it may seem like a sensible measure to pay people on the bottom rung of the employment scale a minimum $18.40 an hour as a means helping low-income families in our society (the exact level is yet to be quantified). Read more
A new report being launched by the Education Minister today has criticised the way maths is taught to primary students, saying there is a lack of emphasis on the basics which is holding children back. The report, written by researcher Rose Patterson, for the business thinktank The New Zealand Initiative, says since the Numeracy Project was launched 15 years ago, maths performance has declined. Read more