Distinguishing investment from consumption changes the way we think about and manage the economy.
Read MoreWe Need a New Approach to Economic and Fiscal Management
An Independent Judgement on the Coalition Government’s Fiscal Stewardship
PREFU26 enables us to compare the economic management of the 2023 Labour Government with the 2026 Coalition Government.
Read MoreReal Competition?
Is it possible to reorganise supermarkets to introduce genuine competition?
Read MoreSong Sung Blue
The DIA’s treatment of the National Library’s music collection illustrates Parliament’s increasing weakness at reflecting the public’s concerns.
Read MoreThe Debt Target
The government simply setting a debt target for its fiscal management makes no sense. Better to set a Crown Net Worth target which reflects the entirety of the Crown balance sheet.
Read MoreTaxing Questions
The run up to the election is the silly season; is there any point in taking most of the tax proposals seriously?
Read MoreNotes and Comments
Short notes on economic matters which do not make a full column.
Read MoreDo Labour Markets Behave Like Competitive Markets?
The American evidence is that they frequently do not.
Read MoreGDP Fetishism
Are we too focused on material consumption at the expense of wellbeing?
Read MoreUnemployed Misery
At the 2026 election, unemployment is likely to be higher and inflation lower than it was in 2023.
Read MoreLuxon's history lessons... but also what's different from past leadership challenges
Parties who change leader in election year always lose. But does that mean National’s decision to keep Christopher Luxon as leader the right one?
Read MoreHow Might the AI Boom Bust?
Productivity increases do not always generate increases in profits. We do not know when the economic boom generated by AI will be over, but the overstretched industry is increasingly looking shaky.
Read MoreGrounds for Grumpiness
Where does the grumpiness threatening the nation’s stability come from?
Read MoreStuart Nash's fail shows a key calculation for Election 2026
Stuart Nash crossed a few lines when he insulted Napier MP Katie Nimon. But a key misstep was putting in peril the critical women’s vote which could swing this election, as it has in previous years.
Read MoreA Populist ACT
There is insufficient support for neoliberal economic policies so political parties of the hard right are adopting populist causes.
Read MoreThe Winner's Curse: Behavioural Economics Anomalies Then and Now by Richard Thaler & Alex Imas
Paul Krugman described behavioural economics as the most important innovation in the economics discipline for half a century.
Read MoreLooking Outwards
There is a case that the government agency which has contributed most to New Zealand’s economic growth is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Read MoreThe Origins of Kiwisaver
Understanding its history helps understanding where it is going.
Read MoreBrierley: Asset Stripper or Restructurer?
The column focuses only on the business activities of Ron Brierley
Read MoreTowards Sustainable Economic Management
Apply the golden fiscal rule and invest prudently.
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