Poorly Understood recognises that poverty is a complex and multi-faceted issue. It presents an overview of poverty-related issues: its definitions; its measures; its causes; and its history. Read more
When David Cameron promised a referendum on his country’s membership of the EU, the British Prime Minister probably hoped he would never have to hold it. That was his first miscalculation. Read more
Our Executive Director, Dr Oliver Hartwich discusses poverty on Newstalk ZB following the launch of our report, Poorly Understood: The State of Poverty in New Zealand. Read more
Wellington (25 February 2016): New Zealand’s abundant poverty statistics should not be reduced to a single headline-grabbing number, a new report from The New Zealand Initiative argues. Poorly Understood: The state of poverty in New Zealand shows that poverty is a complex and multi-faceted issue and choosing attention-getting figures too often oversimplifies what is a very real problem. Read more
Jenesa Jeram, co-author of Poorly Understood: The state of poverty in New Zealand discusses the three things everyone should know about the report. Read more
The European Union has been in crisis for many years. Simultaneous sovereign debt, banking and monetary crises have tested the European institutions to the limit. Read more
If you have been living under a rock, you may not have realised there is a war going on in Auckland. There are no guns and bombs involved (at least not yet) but, based on the headlines, the tensions seem to be equivalent to those of a real conflict. Read more
Last week, the Salvation Army released its State of the Nation Report. And, contrary to the usual story, the Salvation Army’s report generally paints a picture of improving outcomes. Read more
Reading the headlines, you might think the world is going to hell in a handcart. Once again there is carnage in global financial markets. Read more
Blaming the thug for punching you is only one way of looking at things. After all, if a thug’s punch flies in the forest and your face is not there to meet it, there really is no problem at all. Read more
Economics provides us with a useful toolbox with which to analyse the world. From Pareto efficiency, to perfect competition and rational irrationality, there is an economic theory that will just about explain anything. Read more
“Will capitalism and globalisation survive the next Global Financial Crisis?” That was the question I put to a panel of international investment strategists at a PortfolioConstruction Forum conference in Sydney this week. To be more accurate, I only passed it on. Read more
The European Union has been in crisis for many years. Simultaneous sovereign debt, banking and monetary crises have tested the European institutions to the limit. Read more
Radio New Zealand question whether the Christchurch earthquake counts as negative productivity. Our Head of Research, Dr Eric Cramption answers their question, from 1"35'. Read more
As a general rule, heated policy debates do not really make for appropriate wedding banter. Regrettably, this was the situation in which this correspondent found herself over Waitangi weekend, stuck in a rather incoherent conversation with a heartily inebriated guest over whether the benefits generated by tertiary education are entirely public. Read more