Oliver is the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative. Before joining the Initiative, he was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, the Chief Economist at the Policy Exchange in London, and an advisor in the UK House of Lords.
Oliver holds a master's degree in economics and business administration and a PhD in Law from Bochum University in Germany.
Oliver is available to comment on all of the Initiative’s research areas.
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
The Resource Management Act 1991 was an act of economic self-sabotage. Over three decades it inflated house prices by imposing what economists call a regulatory tax: the share of prices created by planning restrictions alone. Read more
Hungary is a landlocked nation of ten million people with an economy smaller than New Zealand’s. It has no significant military, no permanent seat on the Security Council and no history of shaping international affairs. Read more
For the first time since the Second World War, New Zealand is being asked to make major economic decisions under direct threat from an ally. New Zealand is negotiating a minerals deal with the United States. Read more
In this episode, Eric talks to Oliver Hartwich about New Zealand's negotiations with the United States over rare earth minerals, following a 180-day ultimatum from America requiring allied nations to sign mineral access deals or face tariffs. They discuss the complications revealed in Australia's similar agreement, the implications for New Zealand's mining regulations and international relationships, and how this pressure from the US represents a fundamental shift away from the traditional rules-based international order. Read more
At the World Economic Forum last month, Mark Carney delivered a speech that should make every middle power pay attention. The former central banker, now Canada’s Prime Minister, argued that the rules-based international order is fading. Read more
The past month has been difficult to process. Afemerican special forces captured Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela. Read more
The domestic political year has started with housing density back on the agenda. Is Christopher Luxon walking away from the bipartisan housing accord? Read more
I do not get to Münster often these days, but whenever I am there, I feel drawn to its town hall. This is where, in 1648, diplomats signed the Peace of Westphalia. Read more
To many on the political left, the Mont Pelerin Society represents something akin to a spectre. It is frequently portrayed as a secretive cabal of market fundamentalists operating in the shadows to dismantle the state and privatise the public sphere. Read more
Across the democratic world, voters are losing patience with the machinery that stands between a vote and its result – the courts, parliamentary procedures and constitutional limits that do not care who won. The usual explanations – economic anxiety, cultural backlash, social media – capture something real, but they miss a deeper problem. Read more
After many difficult years, 2025 felt different. It was not easier. Read more
Last week, boxes of fudge arrived at New Zealand’s Parliament. Not as a festive treat, but as a political weapon. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich spoke with Newstalk ZB about the government's plan to merge the Ministries of Environment, Transport, Housing, Urban Development, and Internal Affairs into a new mega-ministry called MSERD. While he acknowledged the need to consolidate New Zealand's numerous government departments, Dr Hartwich expressed doubts about the timing and effectiveness of this particular merger, drawing comparisons to the challenges faced by the large and complex MBIE. Read more
In this episode, Oliver and Michael reflect on a packed 2025 that brought major policy wins in education, housing, and regulation, while looking ahead to the bigger picture challenges shaping 2026. They cover everything from the Initiative’s Dutch delegation and Prof Barbara Oakley’s visit, to the dramatic early gains in literacy and numeracy under Minister Erica Stanford, the new Resource Management Act, and the work ahead on AI, demographic change, and political polarisation. Read more
Let me state this clearly at the outset: I have never placed a bet on a greyhound. I have never owned a greyhound. Read more