This week, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released its dramatically titled annual democracy index: ‘Democracy at a standstill.’ New Zealand scored well, as should be expected. According to the EIU, we are the fifth most democratic nation on the planet, being only marginally less democratic than the obligatory Scandinavians: Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Denmark. Read more
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As a great Monty Python fan, one of my favourite scenes is from their movie Life of Brian. As a group of Judean conspirators against the Roman occupation gather, the rhetorical question is asked what those awful Romans had ever done for them. Read more
Governments, worldwide, control the issuance of domestic money. That monopoly position creates the problem of determining how much money to print. Read more
On 6 May, it will be three years since the United Kingdom elected its first coalition government since World War II. The Cameron government has made rescuing public finances its most important goal – with the Coalition Agreement giving deficit reduction precedence over all other measures. Read more
As readers of Insights will no doubt be aware Baroness Margaret Thatcher, prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, died this week at 87. Amid generous tributes, and rotten and distasteful rallies celebrating her passing, it is worth remembering her achievements and failings as prime minister. Read more
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In early March, we were worried about Italy after the Italians had elected a parliament with no clear majorities. In late March, we got concerned about Cyprus because the European Union’s misguided crisis management undermined confidence in the safety of bank deposits across the eurozone. Read more
Last week, considerations to raise the speed limit on some of New Zealand’s open roads made headlines. The current speed limit of 100 km/h has not changed for about half a century – a period that has seen improvements to both cars and roads. Read more
Amid the doom and gloom in New Zealand retirement saving rates, there is a certain wistful longing for the system across the Tasman: superannuation in Australia has a contribution of up to 12%, has been around for 20 years, is compulsory, and has generated a massive pool of domestic savings. What’s more, your employer is compelled to pay it! Read more
In The New Zealand Initiative's Better Education Project, I am looking at how policy levers interact and affect the quality of teaching in schools. Teacher training and qualifications, or Initial Teacher Education (ITE), is one policy area of promise. Read more
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Last Thursday night, former Australian Prime Minister Hon John Howard spoke at The New Zealand Initiative's inaugural retreat in Auckland. Below is an edited excerpt of his speech in which shared his views on think tanks and how they influenced him during his time as a politician. Read more
Manufacturers and exporters have been complaining about the high Kiwi dollar for a long time. Opposition politicians are openly toying with the idea of changing the Reserve Bank’s mandate to manipulate the exchange rate downwards. Read more