We should not pay through the roof for small safety benefits, argues Bryce Wilkinson How would you react to being told that government regulations have added 50 percent to the cost of replacing a tin roof on a house? I ask because a long-standing professional builder told me in a chance encounter shortly before Christmas that scaffolding requirements under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 mean that a small re-roofing job that would have otherwise cost $4,000 may now cost $6,000. Read more

William Voegeli, a senior editor at Clarement Review of Books, recently gave a speech, The case against liberal compassion, at Michigan's Hillsdale College that raised the question of why many (US) liberals appear to feel that no matter how much governments are spending to alleviate and prevent poverty, the latest amount is always shamefully inadequate. He put US federal spending on welfare, including health and education, in 2013 at 2/3rds of all federal outlays and 14% of GDP. Read more

Last week Tyler Cowen drew attention, in Marginal Revolution, to Vox blogger, Dylan Matthews', opinion that "New Zealand's parliament is better designed than just about any other developed country government". Aw shucks! Read more

A week just spent in the glittering, throbbing city-state metropolis that is Hong Kong, is a reminder that there is a lot more to this place than its stunning night-time skyline. Rolls Royce cars and Ferraris adorn its streets, perhaps to an uncomfortable degree from an egalitarian Kiwi perspective, yet labour-intensive, bespoke suits are still much cheaper than in New Zealand. Read more

Democracy is a very fine thing, yet is worth dying for, and it is humbling to think of all those who have. Yet general election campaigns do not bring the populace's best instincts to the fore. Read more

A two-page feature in the Sunday Star-Times (Aug 3) says Labour’s promise to introduce a capital gains tax and raise the top rate of income tax has put “equality” back at the heart of economic and political debate. The only concept of equality the article considers is one where the ideal is that everyone gets the same income regardless of how hard or productively they work. Read more

An article recently published by the New Zealand Listener, Child support that works, asserts that the existing system of child support "is next to useless at reducing poverty" - because, to a large extent "Government simply takes the child support to offset the benefit".Yet this is exactly what should happen if the purpose of the benefit is to top up inadequate child-support payments by non-custodial parents. Child-support payments allow more children to be supported than could be funded otherwise. Read more

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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

Openness to foreign trade and capital is fundamental to New Zealand's prosperity. If we get both aspects right, New Zealanders can enjoy the best things the world can offer and great job prospects – without emigrating. Read more

This week we published the last in our series of three reports on New Zealand’s external financial links. Our report, Open for business: Removing the barriers to foreign investment, co-authored by the writer and Research Assistant Khyaati Acharya, examines New Zealand’s Overseas Investment Act 2005 and associated regulations. Read more

Economists can agree about many things. The importance of tradable property rights in scarce fresh water is a case in point. Read more