Reports & Media

It is bad enough when the government compulsorily acquires your house for a public purpose, like building a road or railway line. Sure, the government will hopefully pay a bit more than the going market rate for the property. Read more

The Overseas Investment Act 2005 is a piece of national legislation doused in controversy. It is complex, time-consuming, and difficult to navigate. Read more

The first rule of journalism is that “dog bites man” is not news. But “man bites dog” is worth a news story, an editorial demanding government do something about it, and an in depth feature exploring the motivations of the biter. Read more

Replace the word London for Auckland and you could be forgiven for thinking that The Economist was writing a lament about housing affordability in New Zealand’s biggest city. In an article titled “Little London”, the magazine notes that soaring property prices are dragging on the city’s economy. Read more

History offers great value in learning. But sometimes its lessons are too difficult to understand and apply – even for those who have written the history books. Read more

History offers great value in learning. But sometimes its lessons are too difficult to understand and apply – even for those who have written the history books. Read more

Remember social bonds? Or Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) as they are known internationally? Read more

Many of New Zealand’s future surgeons, scientists and teachers are right now sitting in front of an adult charged with teaching them the skills and knowledge that will help them in their post-school careers. In this way, would it be far-fetched to conclude that teachers have one of the most important jobs in New Zealand? Read more

Donald Trump is a demagogue and a proud ignoramus. Knowing nothing of the detail of policy, even in its broadest take, would be bad enough. Read more

This was one of the main messages in The New Zealand Initiative's latest report on public health regulations. Shocking as it is. Read more

Nothing is worse than politicians running out of ideas. Or to say it in the famous words of Abraham Maslow, “I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.” In the case of politicians, the hammer is the power to tax and the nails are all the problems that are coming their way. Read more

The New Zealand Treasury has a vision. It is to be “a world-class Treasury working for higher living standards for New Zealanders”. Read more

In his book The Ascent of Money, Harvard economic historian Niall Ferguson introduced us to what he called “the perennial truths of financial history”. They were: “Sooner or later every bubble bursts. Read more