A nation divided
This week saw a nation divided. While there were no protests in the streets, snarky comments were rife. Read more
9 February, 2018
The new and the good
James Shaw’s State of the Planet speech called for a new economic model – sustainability economics – to meet environmental and equity challenges ahead. While his call comes from the left, it reminded me of earlier criticisms of mainstream economics from the right. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton
9 February, 2018
Media release: Sugar taxes unlikely to improve health
Wellington (2 February 2018): A review of sugar taxes commissioned from NZIER by the Ministry of Health, released this week under the Official Information Act, finds that sugar taxes are unlikely to improve health outcomes. The report finds that: “No study based on actual experience with sugar taxes has identified an impact on health outcomes.” “Studies using sound methods report reductions in [sugar] intake that are likely too small to generate health benefits and could easily be cancelled out by substitution of other sources of sugar or calories.” Earlier studies significantly overestimate the effect of sugar taxes on sugar consumption due to “fundamental methodological flaws,” and these estimates have contaminated later modelling trying to assess the health benefits of sugar taxes. Read more
2 February, 2018
What has economic growth ever done for us?
It’s too easy to take things for granted. In Monty Python’s classic Life of Brian, John Cleese’s Reg asked what the hated Romans had ever done for the people of Judea – and was rather annoyed to hear a long list of things like medicine, sanitation, education, wine, irrigation and more. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton
2 February, 2018
Oxfam & LBJ
Lyndon Johnson once said of his unrelenting critics that if he walked on the Potomac, headlines would criticise him for not being able to swim. I was reminded of this when I read Oxfam New Zealand’s comments surrounding the release of the latest Oxfam report “Reward Work, not Wealth”. Read more
2 February, 2018
Rate runs on rental market
In recent years, the housing rental market has become New Zealand’s newest national sport. Complete with arm-chair critics and commentators. Read more
2 February, 2018
London’s Michaela School is an inspiration for all
The north London suburb of Wembley may be the home of English football. But until a few years ago, that was probably its only claim to fame. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich
2 February, 2018
"Sugar tax would be burdensome and ineffective"
New research out of NZIER, and released under the Official Information Act, says the sugar tax won't work. The findings mirror what we concluded in our 2016 report, The Health of the State. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton
2 February, 2018
Media release: Well-intentioned targets must be followed by well-targeted actions
Wellington (30 January 2018): “We welcome the government’s focus on tracking the number of children in persistent poverty and hardship. However, setting multiple arbitrary targets for reducing child hardship is easier than actually helping people extricate themselves from their predicaments,” said Dr Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative. Read more
30 January, 2018
Nights' Pundit Dr. Eric Crampton
On his regular Radio New Zealand Nights chat, Eric Crampton talks through the findings of his latest report Recipe for Disaster. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton
30 January, 2018
What's important isn't always what's urgent
On February 3, the timer counting down Labour’s first hundred days will pop. There’s been a lot of urgency about pushing through important parts of Labour’s election manifesto before that hundred-day timer runs out. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton
29 January, 2018
New Zealand needs more than baby steps
I am delighted for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. There is surely no more enriching experience than parenthood. Read more
Roger Partridge
26 January, 2018
Governments still under-prepared for the next big one
Earthquake-prone New Zealand is still under-prepared for the next earthquake or major disaster. That is the central finding of The New Zealand Initiative’s research report, Recipe for disaster: Building policy on shaky ground. Read more
Dr Bryce Wilkinson ONZM
26 January, 2018
Desperately seeking someone
What’s the difference between Oxfam and the Tinder dating app? One concerns itself with issues of equality and fairness across swathes of the world’s population; the other is a charitable organisation set up in Oxford by the Quakers in 1942. Read more
26 January, 2018
Recipe for disaster: Building policy on shaky ground
Kiwis know a lot about earthquake preparedness. We know that we have to store enough water and supplies to last for an extended period. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton
Dr Bryce Wilkinson ONZM
25 January, 2018