Taxpayer guarantees for bank deposits are a can of worms. There should be a strong presumption against them. Those who chase higher returns should bear the risks themselves. Read more
In a world where we can hardly buy anything without a disclaimer stamped on it, it is surprising that articles about Brexit still come without a health warning. No, Brexit coverage does not contain nuts. Read more
During her tour of Europe last month, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wrote a piece in the Financial Times. As it was published behind the London newspaper’s paywall, most New Zealanders probably missed it (though a copy is available on the Beehive’s website). Read more
Tidying guru Marie Kondo advises her followers to hold or hug everyday items and ask yourself: “Does this item spark joy?” So I picked up a plastic bag and clutched it to my chest. I first felt joy, and then an overwhelming grief. Read more
Jake is a 16-year-old student with NCEA level 1 who has just left school. His friends and family tell him “more education is always better; graduates earn more on average than non-graduates”. Read more
The Reserve Bank is an unusual entity. It has a board that is not a board, and a governor who is also a chief executive. Read more
Rather than rising since the 1980s, income inequality in New Zealand rose in the late 1980s and early 1990s, then flattened out. Some of that increase was real, but some of it was complicated – as explained late last year. Read more
New Zealand's tax brackets don't accurately reflect what counts as "high earning" in this country, critics say. Since 2008, the highest personal income tax rate has kicked in on earnings over $70,000 a year. Read more
Everything has its season. The slow January news period brings Oxfam’s annual condemnation of wealth inequality and calls for redistribution. Read more
KiwiBuild – the government programme to build or deliver 100,000 homes in 10 years – serves no useful public interest purpose and promises to endlessly distract and embarrass the government. That is the signal conclusion of KiwiBuild: Twyford’s Tar Baby, a research note released this week by The New Zealand Initiative. Read more
Being the most recent addition to the New Zealand Initiative research team, I would like to briefly introduce myself. My name is Patrick – also known more commonly in some social interactions as the “Father of Liz” or the “Husband of Julia”. Read more
Read The New Zealand Initiative's submission to the Independent Expert Advisory Panel on Phase 2 of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act Review. Read more
KiwiBuild – the government programme to deliver 100,000 down-sized homes in 10 years – is a waste of time and money. It serves no useful material public purpose and absorbs time and resources that would be far better devoted to addressing the real problem – housing affordability. Read more
A panel - chaired by the former National Prime Minister Jim Bolger - has made recommendations to the government on how best to set up Fair Pay Agreements that would set minimum terms and conditions for all workers in the same sector or occupation in a bid to stop a slide in pay. The report has yet to be made public, but the National Party has been told some of the recommendations - chiefly that a fair pay negotiation could be triggered with the support of just ten per cent of a workforce nationwide. Read more
Every January, Oxfam releases a report on global wealth inequality. This year's Oxfam report contrasted the drop in wealth held by the less wealthy half of New Zealand with the rise in wealth enjoyed by the two Kiwis who made it on to Forbes' 2018 list of billionaires. Read more