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If the only economics you ever learned was from watching Ben Stein's lecture in the classic film Ferris Bueller's Day Off, you'll still have learned something awfully important for the economic recovery from the pandemic. And it's a lesson that New Zealand and Singapore have taken to heart - as evidenced by the trade agreement Trade Minister David Parker struck last week. Read more

The world is at war. The enemy may be a tiny virus, but this string of ribonucleic acid has the effect of a large military force. Read more

Early in the pandemic crisis, the Government was quick to offer a wage subsidy scheme to help protect both employers and employees. But is this scheme still fit for purpose? Read more

Two centuries ago, Napoleon Bonaparte called China a sleeping lion and advised to “let her sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world." Bonaparte's prophecies are relevant again today. The lion is now awake and she is becoming increasingly assertive. Read more

All going well, the Alert 4 lockdown will end in two weeks. But life will not return to normal. Read more

If the Government’s decision to suspend most of the economy and send most Kiwis home for a month is successful, I will be one of the first to applaud. Covid-19 has cast me in the role of a vulnerable New Zealander. Read more

We all know those newspaper segments which feature a previously famous person. And then we read these articles wondering why we have not heard from them for such a long time, and sometimes we may even be surprised to hear that they are still alive. Read more

You'd think it would be easy to figure out just what is an essential service when there's need for pandemic lock-downs. Food services and health services obviously make the cut; movie theatres and concerts, not so much. Read more

Professor Sir David Skegg raised the 64-thousand-dollar (or perhaps 64 billion-dollar) question in his testimony before Parliament’s Epidemic Response Committee this week. He asked whether the government had a clear the strategic objective for its unprecedented level-four lockdown. Read more