Eric Crampton is Chief Economist with the New Zealand Initiative.
He applies an economist’s lens to a broad range of policy areas, from devolution and housing policy to student loans and environmental policy. He served on Minister Twyford’s Urban Land Markets Research Group and on Minister Bishop’s Housing Economic Advisory Group.
Most recently, he has been looking at devolution to First Nations in Canada.
He is a regular columnist with Stuff and with Newsroom; his economic and policy commentary appears across most media outlets. He can also be found on Twitter at @ericcrampton.
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
A friend who worked in one of the Ministries years ago called it “Hiding the cheese”. It’s a fun game for the Ministries, hiding the cheese. Read more
In Frank Hebert’s classic Dune series, the Bene Gesserit sisterhood’s supernatural abilities extended only so far. There was a place where their powers could not see – a place that repelled and terrified them. Read more
In Douglas Adams’s classic Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, Wonko the Sane realised that the world had gone mad. He had seen the instructions on the side of a packet of toothpicks. Read more
We all know the old joke that an economist would look for his keys under a lamp post not because that’s where he’d dropped them, but because that’s where the light is. But sometimes new lamp posts add the necessary extra bit of illumination. Read more
Today could see another historic milestone for the New Zealand economy. Unemployment is expected to fall from its current level of 3.2 percent, which is already the lowest since records began. Read more
Scott Wilson joins Eric Crampton and Matthew Birchall to discuss the petrol excise holiday, sustainability of the land transport funding system, and what better options might be for the funding and financing of New Zealand roads in the future. To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
In 2010, the National-led government launched a rather substantial experiment. Auckland City’s smaller councils were forced to amalgamate into a supercity structure. Read more
It isn’t crazy to claim that New Zealand’s school system lacks ambition. Or, if it is, our shop has been crazy for a while. Read more
Belief that interest should be reinstated on student loans to allow learners to borrow more while studying. One economist says because the Government is subsidising the interest costs of student borrowing, it's up against lending constraints. Read more
Director of Economics for the Infrastructure Commission, Peter Nunns, talks to Eric Crampton, Chief Economist for The New Zealand Initiative, about his research on the size and scope of local government, as well as funding and financing mechanisms. For more, please read the Infrastructure Commission’s report, authored by Peter Nunns and Nadine Dodge, “Does size matter? The impact of local government structure on cost efficiency.” Read the podcast transcript here. Read more
Budget 2022 allocated just over $2.5 million a year, over four years, to the Customs Service to help it stop cigarette smuggling. I wonder whether it will be enough. Read more
A long queue of people form a circle. Each has a coin purse slung over a shoulder. Read more
If there were no better way of solving the problem, one could forgive how central government has approached water infrastructure reform. Some councils have done a very poor job in maintaining their pipes. Read more
On Sunday, the government announced an extension of the petrol excise and Road User Charge holiday, as well as half-price public transport, until the end of the year. The Beehive’s press release said that the move would reduce headline inflation by 0.5 percentage points. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton and Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, discuss New Zealand's change in legislation for vaping products. To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more