Local government often finds itself stuck between a rock and a hard place. Councils have limited sources of funding – mainly ratepayers and borrowings – which have practical limits. Read more
For many years, Germany’s Greens had a good run. They kept increasing their share of the vote in elections at the federal and state levels. Read more
After spending an embarrassing amount of time trying to figure out whether paying NZ Steel an enormous amount of money to install a new electric furnace made any kind of sense, I have finally come to a conclusion. If the subsidy does make sense, it would indicate severe problems in how industrial allocations have been handled. Read more
The eight days since last Thursday have not been kind to Minister of Finance Grant Robertson’s budget. Initial assessments flattered to deceive. Read more
Spread out over 8, 000 acres (hence ‘the Farm’), Stanford University’s campus is an impressive sight. Palms line the triumphant main drive. Read more
As we get older many of us are a bit forgetful. Keys, glasses, schools and Crown entity subsidiaries. Read more
Last week’s government Budget increased projected government operating spending over the next four years by $8.4 billion while projected revenue fell by $10.7 billion. Projected government borrowing rose by $20 billion. Read more
“There is a lot of ruin in a nation.” It is one of those sayings that is easy to misinterpret. Taking Adam Smith’s famous quote literally, there are so many ways for a country to go wrong. Read more
Let’s imagine a computer game, shall we? It is called ‘Master Lobbyist’, and your job is to play the governments of two countries off against each other. Read more
If a lot of the government’s health policy people started looking warmly at homeopathy and other kinds of medical pseudoscience and woo, we’d all recognise that as a problem, right? Maybe we would want to test our intuitions about it. Read more
Join us on a fascinating journey, chugging through the intricate past, present, and future of rail transport in New Zealand. Chief economist Eric Crampton is once again joined by Client Service Lead for Milestone Solutions, Scott Wilson, to dig deep into the ownership structures and incentives that have guided the development of New Zealand's rail system. Read more
Budget 2023 included a 20 per cent rebate for game development studios that meet a minimum $250,000 expenditure threshold per year. Individual studios will be able to receive up to $3 million per year in rebate funding, and the $160m scheme will be backdated to April 1, 2023. Read more
Meet the new public health. Same as the old public health. Read more
It is two decades since NCEA became New Zealand’s qualification system for secondary school students. It replaced a very traditional, exam-based system – School Certificate and University Entrance-Bursary. Read more
