Wellington (13 March 2015): If you have recently been told that economic growth makes us unhappy, that it spoils the environment and that it increases inequality in society, think again. That is the key message of a new report from public policy think tank The New Zealand Initiative. Read more
When I was interviewed for this job, I was asked what three public policy changes I would make, if I could. They say that people's policy recommendations can reveal a lot about their priorities, and what they value. Read more
For foreign exchange traders, there is nothing more interesting than speculating on central bank policies. Changing interest rates obviously have an effect on exchange rates so traders need to follow the moves of the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and sometimes even the Reserve Bank of New Zealand with interest. Read more
This weekend I’m going to wash the house with a water blaster. I will probably also give the parched garden a good drenching, hose the car down, and then relax afterwards with a nice long shower. Read more
It was an unfortunate coincidence that earlier this week two interviews were published almost at the same time that demonstrated the schism between European wishful thinking and Europe’s not-so-wishful reality. Speaking to German conservative broadsheet Welt am Sonntag, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called for a common European army. Read more
Imagine for a second that you are a small business owner, and one day while trawling through your emails, a bolt of lightning sizzles through the office window and strikes your assistant, killing him instantly. Then to compound the situation, the telephone rings, and it is the police. Read more
Picture this: a wealthy American couple buy a 3ha piece of land in a beautiful, sleepy town in rural New Zealand. Their plans for the land are ambitious; a redeveloped campground, information centre and community classroom. Read more
New Zealand is one of the world’s most expensive places to live. While there are a lot of reasons for that, a pretty substantial underlying reason is the country’s small population. Read more
Bloomberg has just published its list of the 15 most miserable economies in the world for 2015. Misery is measured as the sum of the unemployment rate and the inflation rate. Read more
This week Forbes released its 2015 billionaires list. There are 290 new billionaires in the world this year, including Travis Kalanick and Brian Chesky. Read more
It is fair to say that New Zealand and Portugal are not particularly close nations. Yes, there were a few Portuguese whalers in 19th century New Zealand but according to the latest census the NZ Portuguese population is estimated to be just under 1,000 people -- or roughly 0.02 per cent of the total population. Read more
There are two things that the changes currently shaking up the media sector can teach us. The first is that the digital transition process is painful. Read more
More than five-thousand submissions have been made on a controversial plan to create a Supercity in the Greater Wellington region. Read more
In two weeks the New Zealand Initiative releases its centerpiece report on economic growth. It may seem counterintuitive, but the researchers here at the Initiative don’t actually think it’s the government’s job to grow the economy. Read more
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE) has hired Crown research institute NIWA to draw up coastal hazard lines. Yet the 2012 hazard line guidance co-authored by NIWA staff fails to define, even in principle, what likelihood such lines are meant to represent, let alone justify that choice in cost-benefit terms. The folly of coastal hazard lines of unknown likelihood and net benefit is illustrated by the experience in 2012-14 of the Kapiti Coast District Council. Read more