Equivocation and dissembling have been integral parts of political life. How should we judge them?
Read MoreEconomy
I Have a Little List
With most parties having announced their lists for the next election, we need to think about how the system works.
Read MoreTwo Economists: W. J Baumol (1922-2017) and M. H. Cooper (1938-2017)
The acheivements of two outstanding economists who died recently illustrate just how diverse the profession is.
Read MoreAre Markets Free?
Effective markets are underpinned by the government. The interventions may be sophisticated and well-thought through or they may be clumsy and ineffective. The neoliberal rhetoric of ‘free markets’ leads to the latter.
Read MoreWhen the Water Runs Out.
The growth of farm output may be slowing. Specialty cheeses show an alternative strategy of further post-farmgate processing.
Read MoreBeing a New Zealander.
By exploring the multiple worlds she grew up in in New Zealand, Helene Wong’s memoir ‘Being Chinese: A New Zealander’s Story’ tells us much about our worlds too.
Read MoreMiddle Class Welfare
Jenny Shipley says the middle class has captured the welfare state. But did she understand what the welfare state actually meant before she began attacking it?
Read MoreHow Does Immigration Benefit the New Zealand Economy?
Answering that question proves to be challenging. This preliminary assessment suggests the economic benefits to incumbent New Zealanders may not be great.
Read MoreThe Death of the Media?
If the Commercial Miracle of Newspapers is Over, What will Replace It?
Read MoreThe Context of the 2017 Budget
Much of the commentary on the budget was shallow. What is really going on is that the changes are small but they reflect a particular political perspective. The financial threat was hardly discussed
Read MoreHow Will Housing Prices Fall?
Following up my ‘AUT Policy Observatory’ report on ‘Housing Prices Relative to Consumer Prices: An Analysis’.
Read MoreIs National Stealing Labour’s Social Policy Clothing?
Or has Labour lost its clothes or forgotten how to put them on.
Read MoreAusterians vs Fiscal Conservatives
Managing the government’s fiscal deficit need not mean cutting social expenditure.
Read MoreThe Price of Labour and the Value of Work
Do residential care workers deserve the big pay increase they are getting?
Read MoreThe Productivity Commission tries to think about the Education and Training Sector
The report of the Productivity Commission on the Tertiary Education Sector “New Models of Tertiary Education” is complacent.
Read MoreBolger and Neoliberalism
If Jim Bolger now opposes Ruthanasia, why did he preside over its implementation?
Read MoreRedesigning the Reserve Bank?
Are Labour’s proposals for the changing the way the Reserve Bank operates sensible or nutty (as nutty as the current legislation)?
Read MoreHave We the Right Approach for Regional Wellbeing?
Past policies of banging on about economic growth have failed. A new report argues we should strategise differently with more comprehensive goals.
Read MoreThe Changing World Economy; Four Themes.
Extracted from a paper delivered to Wellington South Rotary; 22 March
Read MoreHow Much Should the Government Be Spending?
Is the fiscal pact between Labour and the Greens a defeat for the left?
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