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.
Bryce was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2025 New Year's honours for his significant contributions to public policy formation and economic research, spanning his influential work at Treasury during New Zealand's major economic reforms and his extensive research on fiscal discipline and regulatory quality.
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
Bryce Wilkinson discusses with Karyn Hay on Radio New Zealand the findings in his new report on KiwiBuild. He explains why the policy fails against all the objectives set for it. Read more
We have to take the flower by the thorns and cut the animalism out of our everyday language. That is the message this week from PETA, or the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Read more
New Zealand’s screening regime for foreign investment in sensitive land conjures images of a madman waving a big stick in a public place. He is as likely to hit his own head as anyone else’s, but it is bad either way. Read more
A very long time ago, as long ago as last Friday, Yvette, 5, and Rupert, 6, committed their grandparents to 100 years of thinking time. For the uninitiated, thinking time is a penalty some parents impose on their young kids for misbehaving. Read more
Global debt is now higher relative to global income than in 2009 according to the latest International Monetary Fund statistics. This is despite the imposition of much more stringent financial regulation since the 2008 financial crisis. Read more
Read The New Zealand Initiative's submission to the Environment Committee on the Crown Minerals (Petroleum) Amendment Bill. Read more
There are many things only the government can do. When it fails to excel, no one else can step in. Read more
Our new report Fit for Purpose? Are Kiwis getting the government they pay for? Read more
Read The New Zealand Initiative's submission to the Treasury on New Zealand’s Fiscal Policy Framework: Establishing an Independent Fiscal Institution. Read more
Read The New Zealand Initiative's submission to the Treasury on Embedding wellbeing in the Public Finance Act 1989. Read more
Governments spend money irresponsibly when they don’t care much whether the wellbeing outcomes for New Zealanders justify the amount being spent. This is happening on a grand scale. Read more
Yesterday, the government released the Tax Working Group’s interim report. As foreshadowed, the Group was coy about what it will recommend in December. Read more
New Zealand is a high-tax country compared to prosperous non-European countries but much of the money appears ill spent. One example of poor outcomes is government spending of about $130,000 to educate an average school pupil to age 15. Read more
The Tax Working Group's interim report released on Thursday rightly disposes of some unworthy proposals but confounds some others, particularly the capital gains issue. My list in the former category includes its position on tax and housing affordability, GST exemptions, and progressive company tax rates. Read more
This report looks at how good a job government is doing with all the tasks entrusted to it. The issue is important because government has come to command much of our resources. Read more