gdplive

GDPLive - How are we tracking?

Waiting for the release of the official Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures has become more exciting since I launched GDPLive. It is like watching the lotto draw when the numbers drop, and you keep checking your ticket. Read more

Professor Christoph Schumacher
Insights Newsletter
13 October, 2023
missing market

Missing markets

If punters at Australia’s Betfair are right, there’s an eighty-nine percent chance any government formed after Saturday’s election will have a National Party Prime Minister. But the things Betfair can’t tell us makes me miss our missing election stock market. Read more

Dr Eric Crampton
Insights Newsletter
13 October, 2023
debate

Leaders’ debates should be more than just entertainment

In Amusing Ourselves to Death, the American cultural critic and media commentator Neil Postman argued that television had debased public discourse. His central thesis rested on the idea that television, with its emphasis on soundbites and sensationalism, reduced even the weightiest of matters to mere trivialities. Read more

Dr Matthew Birchall
NZ Herald
12 October, 2023
nzbeehive

The legacy of government spending

October 15 cannot come soon enough, and not just because of a potential Rugby World Cup showdown between the All Blacks and Ireland. Like many, I have found Election 2023 a tedious affair. Read more

Dr Matthew Birchall
Insights Newsletter
6 October, 2023
nz and german square

Polls apart: NZ and Germany interpret MMP quite differently

As we prepare for another election under the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system, it is worth noting that New Zealand is one of the few nations to have adopted this electoral model. The majority of countries still either opt for First-Past-the-Post or purely proportional systems. Another country that uses MMP is my native Germany. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich
Newsroom
3 October, 2023
Nutmeg square

Ending the scourge of nutmeg

At the Initiative, we have consistently stood up for the rights of random bureaucrats to stop people making harmless choices in their everyday lives. That’s why we were strong supporters of John Key’s decision to ban pseudoephedrine from pharmacies. Read more

Dr James Kierstead
Insights Newsletter
29 September, 2023

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