We’re right behind you is the first discussion paper in a research project that the New Zealand Institute is conducting to develop recommendations on New Zealand’s policy response to climate change. Read more
Despite considerable government investment in tertiary education and training, New Zealand has seen sustained and substantial shortages of skill labour. Norman LaRocque looks at the reasons behind this and outlines the policy environment necessary to address the skills deficit. Read more
Taxation generates various administrative, avoidance, compliance and rent-seeking costs. Alex Robson explains how these ‘deadweight losses’ affect the incentives faced by workers and investors to engage in productive economic activity and how moving to a flatter tax structure would reduce these losses and increase economic growth. Read more
The Business Roundtable supports the Regulatory Responsibility Bill (Bill), with the exception of clause 11 that attempts to exclude the courts. We also make a number of suggestions for minor improvements. Read more
The Business Roundtable supports the main features of the current monetary policy framework. It was one of the few business organisations to support the Reserve Bank Act at the time it was adopted by parliament. Read more
The key point of this submission is that the proposals are in breach of the Cabinet’s regulatory analysis requirements. It is up to all the institutions of government, including parliament, to uphold them. Read more
This paper is intended as an introduction to the topic of public policy. Contributing to the development of good public policies for New Zealand is central to the mission of the New Zealand Business Roundtable. Read more
Proponents of income redistribution generally see it as the easy solution to poverty and inequality, and believe all that is needed is the political will to act. But, as Mark Harrison points out in this empirical study of the effects of the income redistribution, they rarely question how effective it is. Read more
Our submission is largely confined to the so-called 'anti-scalping' provisions of the bill. In our view they should be dropped. Read more
The earth has experienced periods of warming and cooling during the last hundred years, with significant warming between 1970 and 1998. Science suggests some element of human-induced warming but the proportion is very uncertain. Read more
So far yet so close is the sixth paper in a series that forms part of the New Zealand Institute’s research project on Creating a global New Zealand economy. This paper follows on from our first five papers No country is an island, Dancing with the stars?, The flight of the Kiwi, Developing Kiwi global champions, and Competing to win. Read more
In terms of revenue, spending and assets, many councils rank with New Zealand’s largest enterprises: ratepayers’ equity is a massive $67 billion, or $16,300.00 per capita. This report points to the very large increases in rates payable by households and businesses over recent years. Read more
We are interested in this issue because of the principles involved. We recognise the legitimate interests and rights of customary, recreational and commercial fishers and the need to reconcile them in the context of the total allowable catch (TAC). Read more
The draft New Zealand Curriculum adopts an intellectually flawed ‘outcome-based’ education model. This is an approach which prevailed in the late 1980s and early 1990s and has now been largely discredited and abandoned by countries with successful education systems. Kevin Donnelly advocates the internationally proven syllabus or standards-based approaches and argues that continuing to ignore the large body of international evidence in this area will put future generations of New Zealand students at risk. Read more
The greatest weakness of the BPS is its failure to address the central problem of ensuring the future prosperity of New Zealanders by achieving faster growth in average incomes. This has been the government’s stated ‘top priority’ goal. Read more