One of the megatrends of the past decades has been urbanisation. Globally, city dwellers have surpassed rural dwellers since 2007. Read more
One of the few things more irritating than someone saying, “I told you so”, is someone sticking their fingers in their ears when you’re trying to tell them something important. In July of this year, the New Zealand Initiative published a Policy Note titled, A Way Ahead for Literacy and Numeracy. Read more
Another week, another British Prime Minister. Just 44 days into the job, Liz Truss was forced into a humiliating resignation. Read more
No one can doubt the importance of military credibility in deterring hostile aggressors. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, even a pacifist post-World War II Germany and the previously neutral Nordic countries have learned that lesson. Read more
This week marks five years since Jacinda Ardern became New Zealand’s 40th prime minister. In modern British political terms, such a period might now be referred to as an era. Read more
If someone told you that America’s tax system is light-years ahead of either Sweden or New Zealand’s in reducing inequality, you’d be right to think they’re either misguided or lying to you. So how the heck did Oxfam manage to create a ranking of tax system fairness that put the US 10th best in the world, the UK 24th, Sweden 104th, and New Zealand 136th? Read more
I’ve always thought of Wellington as being a bit like Tolkien’s Hobbiton. It’s peaceful, comfortable, and largely ignored by the dark forces of the world. Read more
This week’s third-quarter inflation figure from Statistics NZ underlines what a mess the Minister of Finance and the Reserve Bank have made of monetary policy. Inflation may have peaked at 7.3%. Read more
Most political careers end in failure, but few politicians fail as spectacularly, or as rapidly, as Liz Truss. Truss has wrecked more than her own political career since she became British Prime Minister less than two months ago: her personal reputation, her party’s credibility, and the UK’s finances. Read more
If years of arguing about supermarkets and supermarket policy have taught us anything, it’s that allowing another supermarket chain to enter the New Zealand market is in the national interest. So why won’t the government tell the Overseas Investment Office? Read more
Collective nouns are fun. A murder of crows is great. Read more
If you lecture in the theatre and no student is there to hear it, did anybody learn? Welcome to teaching at universities in 2022. Read more
If there’s one objection that proponents of the free market are familiar with, it’s that capitalism is anti-social. From Adam Smith to Gordon Gekko – so the objection goes – liberal and neo-liberal economists have been doing little else but reciting a mantra of ‘Greed is good.’ It was with this argument in mind that I found some recent research on markets and pro-sociality so intriguing. Read more
It might not have been a vote of no-confidence in local government, but it was far from an enthusiastic endorsement of the status quo. In 2019, 42% of eligible local voters cast a ballot. Read more
Aucklanders have yet more rail disruption to look forward to this Christmas. Last week, in a bolt from the blue, KiwiRail and Auckland Transport announced a series of major shutdowns to train lines in the Super City. Read more