Economy
Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay:
Princes and lords may flourish, or may fade—
A breath can make them, as a breath has made:
But a bold peasantry, their country’s pride,
When once destroyed, can never be supplied.
The Deserted Village: Oliver Goldsmith
This column follows on from ‘Whence Europe; Whither Europe’.
Read MoreAlthough completed a decade ago, Tony Judt’s history of postwar Europe presaged some of the challenges that it faces today.
Read MoreBig data can be used for good and it can be used for evil. Some recent public research illustrates the former but there are doubts about some private uses.
Read MoreEconomists and policy analysts have paid insufficient attention to the distributional consequences of change. Hence the rise of the angries.
Read MoreFar too much public commentary on wealth inequality obscures what is actually is going on.
Read MoreWhat can we learn about health care systems and the US from the muddle that America is getting into over Obamacare?
Read MoreInternational comparisons suggest that New Zealand secondary students are not doing well. It may even be that recent policy measures have worsened their performance.
Read MoreHow does a post-truth world work? Some psychological findings may be useful. (The Oxford Dictionary definition of ‘post-truth’ is ‘Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’ The Dictionary labelled it the word of the year 2016.)
Read MoreA recent decision by New Zealand on Air in response to the changing media technologies raises a range of issues about how the platforms are used.
Read MoreA book about two psychologists who have altered the way we think about the way we think.
Read MoreYour In-tray is piled high.
Read MoreCould the alienated grumpies have a greater effect on New Zealand political life?
This was written before John Key announced his resignation. Other than perhaps the tense I think there is no need for revision.
Read MoreA new book leads to ponderings on our technology strategy.
Read MoreCan Trump wreck the world trading system?
Read MoreThe times are a’changing, as recent macroeconomic fashions are being abandoned and old verities are being restated.
Read MoreThe alienated Angries who supported Brexit and Trump are not going to go away.
Read MoreWhile overall income inequality may have been relatively stable over the last two decades, it appears to be increasing in Auckland (and perhaps in our other big urban centres).
Read MoreA novel about an historical event reminds us of the health redisorganisation of the 1990s, raising issues remaining relevant to today.
Read MorePretending it can, or that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand can function independently from the rest of the world, could generate a financial crash.
Read MoreWhat does the latest Economics Prize in honour of Alfred Nobel tell us about economics as a science?
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