Bryce is a Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative, and also the Director of the Wellington-based economic consultancy firm Capital Economics. Prior to setting this up in 1997 he was a Director of, and shareholder in, First NZ Capital. Before moving into investment banking in 1985, he worked in the New Zealand Treasury, reaching the position of Director. Bryce holds a PhD in economics from the University of Canterbury and was a Harkness Fellow at Harvard University. He is a Fellow of the Law and Economics Association of New Zealand.
Bryce is available for comment on fiscal issues, our poverty, inequality and welfare research. He also has a strong background in public policy analysis including monetary policy, capital markets research and microeconomic advisory work.
Latest reports:
Walking the path to the next global financial crisis (2021)
Illusions of History: How misunderstanding the past jeopardises our future (2021)
Policy Point: A risky place to do business (2021)
Policy Point: Is climate change a key risk to global financial stability? (2020)
Roadmap for Recovery: Briefing to the Incoming Government (2020)
Pharmac: The right prescription? (2020)
Research Note: Doing whatever it takes with someone else’s money (2020)
Policy Point: FDI: Unjustified Urgency (2020)
Research Note: Deficit spending in a crisis: why there is no such thing as a free lunch (2020)
Research Note: Quantifying the wellbeing costs of Covid-19 (2020)
Research Note: How bad might the lockdown be for jobs and income? (2020)
Work in Progress: Why Fair Pay Agreements would be bad for labour (2019)
Scroll down to read the rest of Bryce's work.
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
That is the sign all Ministers of Finance should have on their desk. Treasury’s latest pre-election economic and fiscal update this week forecast cumulative fiscal deficits of $17 billion for the four years ended June 2027. Read more
Tuesday’s Treasury’s pre-election forecasts confirmed that Government spending exceeds revenue by more than what was forecast in the May 2023 Budget. Far too many commentators are concluding the increase is not too bad. Read more
This week, the National Party revealed its tax plans for the election. These are aimed at people with average incomes. Read more
As the nation prepares to vote on 14 October, the sentiment across New Zealand is one of frustration and concern. Skyrocketing living costs, unaffordable housing, strained healthcare, and a growing educational gap are the voices of a country looking for change. Read more
Wellington (Tuesday, 15 August 2023) - Many New Zealanders know that the kiwi economy here has faced struggles over the decades and not performed as well as many other countries. But today's news may still surprise them: Ireland has not just moved ahead of us. Read more
New Zealanders should not be too proud to learn from others. In 2017, The New Zealand Initiative led 36 senior business leaders to visit Switzerland for this purpose. Read more
New Zealand’s current legislative approach to overseas investment is a mess. It is a mess because it does not focus on what is important – facilitating strong connections to the rest of the world while protecting New Zealand’s sovereignty. Read more
Pharmac is often criticised for not funding enough new medicines and for being too slow to determine which ones it will fund. However, being slow and focused is not proof of being too slow or too focused. Read more
Wellington (Thursday, 3 August 2023) – Pharmac is commonly criticised for being too slow to fund new medicines and for not funding many of them. A policy note released today by the New Zealand Initiative shows why this may be desirable. Read more
Everyone knows that Wellington’s CBD will thrive when those who know best ban cars. People will love coming into the CBD to buy bulky products, such as a microwave, to cart home on the handlebars of their bicycles. Read more
Background Yesterday the Treasury hosted a seminar on New Zealand’s lagging productivity growth rate. It shared the slot with the New Zealand Productivity Commission (NZPC) and Motu, a Wellington-based research institute. Read more
This submission in response to Consultation on New Zealand Grocery Supply Code of Conduct is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative), a Wellington-based think tank supported primarily by major New Zealand businesses. Read more
This month’s Dollars & Sense asks business sector leaders what they’d like politicians to promise on the campaign trail. Dr Bryce Wilkinson was interviewed by NBR's Jonathan Mitchell. Read more
Parliament’s Environment Committee released its reports on the Natural and Built Environment and Spatial Planning Bills this week. The (Labour) majority recommends that modified Bills be enacted. Read more
Sean Plunket talks to Dr Bryce Wilkinson from the New Zealand Initiative about the 28% rise in public service staff since Labour won in 2017.
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