Standard organisational theory explains the differences between an organisation’s objective (or its goal) and the strategies and tactics it adopts to achieve its objective. Read more
Cabinet’s decisions announced today by Finance Minister Grant Robertson to reform the governance and accountability arrangements of the Reserve Bank are commendable. Key among the decisions is establishing a governance board that will be responsible for all functions of the Reserve Bank, except those undertaken by the Monetary Policy Committee. Read more
A giant is dead. Paul Volcker died this week, aged 92. At 6ft 7in, he was, according to the New York Times obituary, one inch too tall for military service. Read more
Last week, Labour finally began delivering on its urban growth agenda. Housing affordability was one of the two main themes of the 2017 election. Restrictions preventing cities from either growing up or growing out made for serious problems when population growth increased demand for housing. Getting the infrastructure in place to allow for urban growth is absolutely vital. Read more
The Prime Minister had declared 2019 “the year of delivery”. Voters will eventually judge the government on whether it has succeeded. Read more
Following the Government's announcement of the $12 billion for infrastructure, Dr Eric Crampton discusses on Radio New Zealand about the need to enable other ways of financing infrastructure on a stable basis rather than constantly relying on infrastructure deficits hitting near-crisis levels. Read more
When Christine Lagarde became president of the European Central Bank in November, she inherited a challenging legacy from her predecessor Mario Draghi. The ECB’s key people are openly divided on the future direction of monetary policy. Markets are expecting interest rates to stay ultra-low for decades, and parts of the continent’s banking system remain fragile. Read more
There was something in the original plans for the post-earthquake Christchurch downtown rebuild that never really made much sense. Well, there were a lot of things that never made any sense, both in the plans and in practice, and that's why a lot of business fled to the suburbs. Read more
Over the past few months, you could not drive through any of our big cities without seeing some strange advertising messages. They were strange because, in our world of doom and gloom, they were spreading good news. Read more
It can take courage to champion what you believe in. Especially when your views are at odds with those of the crowd. And more especially today, when social media’s cauldron of hate can quickly vilify anyone speaking out against politically correct ‘wisdom.’ Read more
One of the underappreciated joys of parenthood is lying to your children. Read more
Confirmation came this week that New Zealand’s once world-leading school system continues its steady decline. Read more
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand should suspend its decision to increase banks’ capital and re-open the public consultation process says public policy think tank, The New Zealand Initiative.The RBNZ’s decision to increase the capital banks are required to hold will have adverse effects for borrowers and the wider economy. The effects are likely to be felt most acutely by high loan-to-value borrowers, the rural sector and small-to-medium-sized enterprises.Yet the Initiative’s submission in response to the RBNZ’s Review of... Read more
Ever since the OECD began testing the educational performance of 15-year olds in the early 2000s, New Zealand has performed progressively worse in all three assessed areas of reading, maths and science. The troubling trajectory was confirmed again with the release of the results of the OECD's 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) testing round. Read more
Despite what Education Minister Chris Hipkins would have us believe, you cannot simply google everything. Read more