Life in the slow lane
New Zealand’s productivity track record is failing us. That was the key message delivered by the Productivity Commission’s new report, Productivity by the numbers: 2019. Read more
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New Zealand’s productivity track record is failing us. That was the key message delivered by the Productivity Commission’s new report, Productivity by the numbers: 2019. Read more
The government has largely put the KiwiBuild and capital gains tax fiascos behind it. Next headed for the cold storage might be the recommendations of its Fair Pay Agreement working group. Read more
“Nothing good happens after 3 am,” Auckland’s top-ranking police officer once said. “Facts tend to be overanalysed,” his Wellingtonian counterpart claimed. Read more
New Zealand attracted global attention after unveiling a "world-first" well-being budget. It's based on priorities such as mental health and child poverty instead of the usual growth and jobs. Read more
Chief Economist Dr Eric Crampton talks to Newstalk ZB about the deterioration of the Treasury and the lack of economists being hired. Listen to the full interview below: Read more
If the Canterbury earthquakes taught us anything, it’s that the immediate response to a disaster is a very different thing from the rebuilding that has to follow. Disaster response is about triage, the good-enough, and avoiding substantial further harm. Read more
New Zealand has to slow down. At least, that was the overall message from the NZ Transport Agency’s Mega Maps data released this week. Read more
Remember former finance minister Steven Joyce’s claim that Labour’s fiscal plan for its 2017 general election campaign had an $11.7 billion “hole”? Back then, Labour intended to spend $572 billion in the five years to 2021-22. Read more
As we wait for the release of the Interim Climate Change Committee's (ICCC) report on the 100% renewable energy policy, the Initiative's Matt Burgess and Oliver Hartwich explain why a Government decision to abandon the policy and take a different approach will be a win for the environment and a win for Kiwi households - and that is something to be congratulated. Matt Burgess is the Initiative's energy expert, and published his report, Switched On! Read more
“With a little ingenuity, it is possible to devise methods of charging for the use of the city streets that are capable of adjusting the charge in close conformity with variations in costs and traffic conditions,” wrote William Vickrey, Nobel Laureate and the father of road pricing theory, in 1963. Little did he know that it would take more than 50 years for the technology to catch up to his vision. Read more