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
Until last week, the East German state of Thuringia was internationally most famous as the home of Martin Luther, Thuringian roasted sausages and the Bauhaus Movement. Now we can add last Sunday’s state election result to that list. Read more
As Karl Marx taught us, history repeats itself first as tragedy and then as farce. With Brexit we are long past these two separate stages. Read more
This week, all eyes will be on Brexit – again. With the Halloween deadline just a couple of weeks away, the coming days will be crucial for the future of Britain, the European Union and their relationship with each other. Read more
When future historians look back at our world today, they will regard it as the end of an era. Over the space of just a few years, the fundamentals of our political and economic order have all changed. Read more
While holidaying in Taupo, we visited the Huka Prawn Park. There, powered by recycled thermal energy from the power station next door, Giant Malaysian river prawns are raised in 26⁰C warm water. Read more
How do you rate a secondary school's performance? For many parents the decile rating becomes the default measure. Read more
Imagine you went to your GP and received an unpleasant diagnosis. Would you want your doctor to panic in front of you, speculate that your disease might be terminal and prescribe a strong medicine? Read more
As Germany heads towards an economic slowdown, and in fact may already be in recession, calls for deficit spending and fiscal stimulus are getting louder – calls for the federal government to use the opportunity of negative interest rates to borrow and invest in infrastructure. Siemens’ CEO Joe Kaeser says so. Read more
The prospect of a new Taika Waititi movie is usually a reason for joyful anticipation. However, watching the trailer of Jojo Rabbit and reading the first reviews left me appalled. Read more
On Monday, my fellow columnist Rod Oram delivered a gloomy view of British democracy. Alarmed by Boris Johnson’s prorogation of Parliament, Rod echoed the views of those who believe the Prime Minister has chosen a most dangerous path. Read more
Before last Wednesday, I had no idea I was “brave”. Until I was told so by a delegate who had heard me speak at a large infrastructure conference. Read more
In case you missed it, the World Rugby Federation members have adopted a new code of conduct. Right in time for the 2019 World Cup, national teams have agreed on a more holistic approach to playing the game. Read more
UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has announced that he will close down Parliament until the middle of October. Oliver Hartwich spoke about this move, and what it means for Brexit, on Newstalk ZB. Read more
At the 2019 Building Nations conference, run by Infrastructure New Zealand, Dr Oliver Hartwich discusses how localism could work in New Zealand, and highlights our research on the topic.
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To reinvigorate nightlife in our cities we need to take a more modern and balanced approach, says our new report, Living after Midnight: For a better night-time environment. Executive Director Oliver Hartwich spoke to Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB to discuss how Amsterdam and Melbourne have come up with pro-active solutions that enable a thriving nightlife, and how we could do the same in New Zealand. Read more