Resources Minister Shane Jones recently floated a novel idea: Government-backed insurance for oil and gas investors to protect them against future policy reversals. Let that sink in. Read more
The United States is in turmoil, and so is its currency. Since Donald Trump slapped tariffs on all imports, global markets have retreated. Read more
One hundred days into Donald Trump’s second presidency, his economic nationalism has produced an unexpected consequence. The man who campaigned on ‘America First’ and delivered sweeping tariffs within weeks of retaking office has become an unlikely champion of free trade – by forcing his opponents to defend it. Read more
This year marks my twentieth anniversary working in think tanks. Two decades ago, I produced my first major publication for London’s Policy Exchange with the late Professor Alan W. Read more
For decades, New Zealand’s industry training system has been a poor cousin to the university system. In recent years, only about 6% of school leavers have undertaken apprenticeships. Read more
If asked to nominate the main objective of public schooling, most people would probably say that it is to teach young people the knowledge they need to thrive in adult life. However, according to the Education and Training Act, that is just one of four equally important objectives. Read more
A drunkard searches for keys under a street lamp. When asked if he lost them there, he replies: "No, but the light is better here." Economists can also seek solutions to poverty, inequality and social problems in familiar places. Read more
Every Saturday morning, our preteen son chats to his grandparents in Germany – on Skype. They swap jokes, blow kisses and add balloons or mistletoe to the screen. Read more
There is plenty to like about Auckland, but its traffic is not one of them. As a South Islander, who makes occasional visits to the City of Sails, I dread its infamous traffic. Read more
Come the next pandemic, we are going to be in the same stupid mess that we were in during the last one. Trusted pharmaceutical regulators overseas, like those in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the UK, will have given provisional approvals for vaccines that are safe. Read more
Last week, New Zealand’s Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced what she presented as a significant 25 percent cut to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s operating budget. The headlines were dramatic: the RBNZ would need to tighten its belt and focus on core functions. Read more
When does a “woman” include a biological male? And who gets to decide – Parliament or the courts? Read more
There’s a fragility to rules-based orders that has been around for as long as those orders have. So long as people generally agree that it is good to be bound by the rules, and that trying to change the rules is better than ignoring or breaking them, a rules-based order can persist. Read more
I have no doubt that Peter Smith loves the West. You can feel it in every line of his writing – the anger at its enemies, the contempt for its betrayal, the frustration at its leaders who lack the courage to defend it. Read more
Imagine owning a fortune in investments while lacking the ready cash to fix your crumbling house. That is New Zealand’s position today. Read more