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Dancing with the stars? Is the second paper in a series that forms part of the New Zealand research project on ‘Creating a global New Zealand economy’. Read more

I sometimes describe my cultural and economic point of view as being that of a cultural optimist; that is, I expect the future in a commercial economy to bring us more choices and more diverse choices. If we put aside the concerns of the current day and look back at world history, it has been the globalising eras that have brought us cultural diversity. Read more

No country is an island is the first paper in a series that forms part of the New Zealand Institute’s research project on ‘Creating a global New Zealand economy’. Read more

'The rule of law' is at once one of the most persistent and mysterious phrases in jurisprudence. I am not aware of anyone who is opposed to the rule of law. Read more

I have been assigned a fiendishly large topic. How do you deal with so vast a subject? Read more

The NZBR agrees with the statements in the introductory note to the Bill about the importance of security in private property rights and the need for compensation when rights in private property are taken. Many of our submissions on government regulations over the years have stressed the need for governments to take a more circumspect and principled approach to altering private property rights. Read more

The concept of fairness is both elusive on the one hand and well-nigh indispensable on the other. On particular occasions, I devoutly wish that the word would be eliminated from the English lexicon, which is a bit like hoping to hold back the tides with a wave of the hand. Read more

Most families with dependent children will qualify for additional family, childcare or housing assistance under the government's Working For Families (WFF) policy which was announced in the 2004 budget. WFF is being introduced in stages between October 2004 and April 2007, and will cost an estimated $1.1 billion a year or 0.7 percent of forecast GDP when fully implemented. Read more

The question I have been asked to address is ‘How big should government be?’. My temptation is to start with the position that they who govern best govern least. Read more

The study of constitutional law often begins with a dispute between two different versions of the relationship of the individual to the state. There are those who think that atomistic individuals come together by a set of voluntary contracts, and those who think that societies should be treated as though they are complex organisms that cannot be understood simply as the sum of their parts. Read more