Māori gangs were one of the responses to the difficulties which urbanising Māori faced.

Nicky Hager’s Dirty Work raises questions of whether money has too much political power.

Distinguishing investment from consumption changes the way we think about and manage the economy.

PREFU26 enables us to compare the economic management of the 2023 Labour Government with the 2026 Coalition Government.

Is it possible to reorganise supermarkets to introduce genuine competition?

The DIA’s treatment of the National Library’s music collection illustrates Parliament’s increasing weakness at reflecting the public’s concerns.

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.

The run up to the election is the silly season; is there any point in taking most of the tax proposals seriously?

Short notes on economic matters which do not make a full column.

The American evidence is that they frequently do not.

Are we too focused on material consumption at the expense of wellbeing?

At the 2026 election, unemployment is likely to be higher and inflation lower than it was in 2023.

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?

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.

Where does the grumpiness threatening the nation’s stability come from?

There is insufficient support for neoliberal economic policies so political parties of the hard right are adopting populist causes.

Paul Krugman described behavioural economics as the most important innovation in the economics discipline for half a century.

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.

Understanding its history helps understanding where it is going.

The column focuses only on the business activities of Ron Brierley

Apply the golden fiscal rule and invest prudently.

The Minister of Health is one of the toughest jobs in Cabinet. In comparison, being Prime Minister or Minister of Finance is easy. Recovering from an emergency operation, unable to move with all the tubes stuck in me, stomach in turmoil, unable to sleep, I thought the Prime Minister had asked me to be Minster of Health. My maiden speech.

If there is a major shock, New Zealand has not got a lot of fiscal room to move.

The proposal to reduce the number of public servants is not well worked out.

Nicola Willis has leaned into National Party traditions but without the ruthless rationing of Ruth Richardson or Jenny Shipley. Still, she’s placed her bet for the election that people will vote for better days to come

The outlook is gloomy.

We are facing difficult challenges from the likely rise in import prices.

In too many areas we are avoiding thinking about or preparing for oncoming changes.

The US is throwing away its world leadership; will China fill the gap?