I prepared this for a US audience; hence its more American perspective. But it may also inform New Zealanders about their politics and about MMP politics.
Read MoreEconomy
Reducing Child Poverty
Despite many attempts, we have been remarkably ineffective at reducing child poverty. Can we expect the current government to do better?
Read MoreHow to Have More Coherent and Directed Child Policy and Support Services.
The new government may talk about paying greater attention to children, but it needs to change the advice and delivery institutions to achieve its goal.
Read MoreHow Have We Changed?
Rogernomics wanted to change us culturally. Has it succeeded?
Read MoreWhither Coalition Government?
Coalition governments are a consequence of MMP. They may better reflect us and our democratic aspirations than the Winner-Takes-All ones of the past.
Read MorePast Rationality: The 2017 Nobel Award for Economics
Paul Krugman, the 2008 winner, tweeted ‘Yes! Behavorial econ is the best thing to happen to the field in generations, and [Richard] Thaler showed the way.'
Read MoreSue Bradford: Constant Radical
How effective are those who pursue change outside the parliamentary system?
Read MoreWhy Voters Will Be Disappointed by the Election Outcome.
New Zealand’s electoral system gives it a parliament which represents voters. Its winner-takes-all executive government, however, remains unrepresentative.* (This is a follow on from the earlier column on coalitions.)
Read MoreIn Praise of Public Servants
This was written before the election outcome is known. It looks at the part of the executive which is not elected: the public servants and advisors.
Read MorePolitics Makes Strange Bedfellows
This is a series of quantitative thoughts on the election outcome. It is based on the 2017 election night vote. Specials are likely to change precise voting shares and even seats. However potential changes do not invalidate the column’s overall conclusions.
Read MoreAn Alternative to Neoliberalism?
Is public spending stuck in the vicelike grip of our quasi-Austerian economic policy?
Read MorePressures to be Selfish
The last column described the philosophy of economist James Buchanan as it applied to the United States. What is its relevance to New Zealand?
Read MoreWealth’s Political Stealth
A new biography of James Buchanan, a founder of economist’s public choice theory, suggests he was not only anti-democratic but was working with others to revoke democracy in America.
Read MoreHe’s Spent It All
The just published PREFU, Treasury’s assessment of the economy, raises more important questions about our fiscal stance than what the election is talking about. Have we the right borrowing strategy?
Read MoreGrumpiness and Government Spending
The policy dimension of the election appears to be about the concerns with past restraints on government spending and the consequential social failures. But whatever the rhetoric, implementation of campaign promises is going to be much harder.
Read MoreWhen is Lying Justified?
Equivocation and dissembling have been integral parts of political life. How should we judge them?
Read MoreI 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.
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