And even more from the book it is based upon: “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.
Read MoreThere is A Lot to Be Learned from the Award Winning Film Oppenheimer
Economy
The Prime Minister’s Biggest Challenge
Luxon has to address the need to maintain and enhance New Zealand’s social cohesion.
Read MoreThe State of the Economy: January 2024
The New Zealand economy is struggling; the new government will struggle to implement its economic promises.
Read MoreA Revolutionary Economist
Robert Solow transformed the way we think about economic growth.
Read MoreForward to 2017
The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.
Read MorePeters as Minister
A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record.
Read MoreUnderstanding Winston
The picture the commentariat presents of Winston Peters is a misleading caricature. If we don’t try to understand the complexity of the man, we cannot understand what is going on in New Zealand politics.
Read MoreThe Bottom of Policy Development
Did you think the incoming government promised to extend bowel screening to 50-59 year olds? The promise was more limited – and more feasible.
Read MoreDoes the Inflation Target Have to Shift?
here is a view that the world economy is entering a period of higher inflation and higher nominal interest rates, but who knows? Presumably New Zealand has to follow.
Read MoreHow Much Influence Do Governments Have?
The more informed an economist is, the more they keep their head down during elections.
Read MoreClaudia Goldin wins the 2023 Nobel Economics Laureateship
She may have progressed our understanding of women in the economy but that has not resolved all the issues.
Read MoreAre Things Falling Apart?
Coalition government reflects a nation’s diversity. Electoral arrangements show it.
Read MoreComparing the Singapore and New Zealand Economies
Singapore and New Zealand have much the same population – a bit over five million people. They are both affluent economies. Singapore is more affluent than New Zealand although there are reasons to believe the data exaggerates the differences. Because of their resource base and location they have rather different economic structures. Yet the two small economies work together in the international political economy.
Read MoreThe ‘Recession’ Has Been Called Off, But Some Households Are Still Struggling
While the economy is not doing too badly in output terms, external circumstances are not favourable, and there is probably a sizeable group of households struggling because of rising interest rates.
Read MoreHas There Been External Structural Change?
A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase.
Read MoreWhat is PREFU 2023 really telling us?
Despite the headlines, things are not much worse than at the time of the 2023 budget, but fiscal management is always difficult.
Read MoreIgnoring Tax Tradeoffs
Public policy frequently suffers because we don’t look at alternatives.
Read MoreChinese Property Market and New Zealand’s Future
Evergrande and Country Garden – two giant Chinese property development companies – are a portent of the turbulence before us.
Read MoreBullying Politicians
Banning mobile phones in schools points to wider issues.
Read MoreCredit Ratings and International Financial Standing
The recent reduction in the US credit rating signals that market lenders are not happy with the US fiscal arrangements. New Zealand’s lower rating is a warning that we could do better too.
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