
Buckle up for the speed-limit debate
New Zealand has to slow down. At least, that was the overall message from the NZ Transport Agency’s Mega Maps data released this week. Read more
You searched everything for "" and got 1429 results
New Zealand has to slow down. At least, that was the overall message from the NZ Transport Agency’s Mega Maps data released this week. Read more
Remember former finance minister Steven Joyce’s claim that Labour’s fiscal plan for its 2017 general election campaign had an $11.7 billion “hole”? Back then, Labour intended to spend $572 billion in the five years to 2021-22. Read more
The Government is not considering lowering the speed limits on most major roads, despite new evidence showing around 87 percent of speed limits are too high for the conditions. But is it that simple: reducing the road toll by lowering the speed limits? Read more
“With a little ingenuity, it is possible to devise methods of charging for the use of the city streets that are capable of adjusting the charge in close conformity with variations in costs and traffic conditions,” wrote William Vickrey, Nobel Laureate and the father of road pricing theory, in 1963. Little did he know that it would take more than 50 years for the technology to catch up to his vision. Read more
There are a lot of promising initiatives in the coalition Government's first "Wellbeing" Budget. But delivering on that promise requires closing a currently open loop in the wellbeing policy process. Read more
The Wellbeing Budget came in the government’s proclaimed year of delivery. But whether this budget will deliver the wellbeing outcomes everyone has been led to expect is a bit up in the air. Read more
New Zealand’s Reserve Bank is creating waves on both sides of the Tasman. Just before Christmas, it surprised the banking sector with proposals to almost double banks’ capital ratios. Read more
Being an economist is great. But there is a downside. Read more
An all-time low official cash rate of 1.5% as of May 8 means borrowing a New Zealand dollar from the Reserve Bank is a step closer to the zero lower bound – with at least one more rate cut expected in the near future. Despite excitement among mortgage owners and business, this is not good news. Read more
During the Global Financial Crisis, many banks around the world failed spectacularly (though fortunately none in Australia or New Zealand). Some financial institutions were bailed out at enormous costs to taxpayers. Read more