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This year’s global publishing sensation has been Capital in the Twenty-First Century, a tome on the alleged rise of inequality in developed countries. Written by French economist Thomas Piketty, it argues that over long periods of time, capitalist societies had become more polarised. Read more
Budget day last week was dominated by the usual focus on the return to surplus, some new spending pledges and discussions around potential future tax cuts. Soon afterward, however, commentators and politicians discovered that the Treasury papers contained some political dynamite outside the core of fiscal policy: a projected rise in net migration figures. Read more
Last week the New Zealand Initiative joined the chorus of approval for Finance Minister Bill English’s sixth budget. And rightly so. Read more
If a week is a long time in politics, it is an age in business, especially for those sectors of the economy exposed to political volatility. Just ask the listed electricity companies, whose share prices are still wearing the effects of the single buyer policy the Labour and Green parties launched one year ago. Read more
Every corner you turn, there is another nature-loving, compost-making, bike-riding, community-befriending greenie - you know the type - they knit their own yoghurts. Perhaps this is because I live in New Zealand's oldest hippie suburb, Aro Valley in Wellington, but it seems the resurgence of green-thinking is not limited to this one neighbourhood. Read more
Finance Minister Bill English can be pleased that his 6th budget is the first in which he is able to deliver a (modest) surplus. That in itself is no small achievement. Read more
20th century German-language novelist, Franz Kafka, said that “every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy.” Clearly, the man was not a fan of bureaucracies. In fact, “Kafkaesque” is how we now describe the worst aspects of bureaucracy. Read more
‘The labour market’ refers to all the places where firms look for people to hire, and where workers look for job opportunities. It exists because firms need workers and workers need jobs. Read more
MYTH 1: Foreign investment means loss of control Parliament remains the supreme law-making body, inwards foreign investment must comply with New Zealand laws, and foreigners don't get to vote. Land use and business activity is extensively regulated in New Zealand, for overseas and local investors alike. Read more
This week, The New Zealand Initiative releases its third and final report in the foreign direct investment (FDI) series, Open for Business: Removing the barriers to foreign investment. The report focuses on New Zealand's policies towards inwards overseas investment, the centrepiece of which is the Overseas Investment Act 2005 (OIA). Read more