New Zealand has a successful economy. International rankings regularly put us near the top for competitiveness, economic freedom and ease of doing business.
At the same time, New Zealand’s per capita incomes trail those of other developed countries. Our productivity growth is anaemic. Our ability to attract high-quality international investment is limited.
New Zealand cannot rest on the laurels of past reforms. We must continue to improve our economic policy settings.
The New Zealand Initiative’s research includes analysis of regulatory and fiscal policy. We explore how incentives can promote economic development, and we investigate the social effects of economic policy.
Our flagship publications include a series on New Zealand’s foreign direct investment regime (Open for Business, 2014), a proposal to establish a fiscal council (Guarding the Public Purse, 2014), a report assessing interest-free student loans (Decade of Debt, 2016), and a report assessing the efficiency of government spending (Fit for Purpose? 2018).
This submission is in response to the second round of consultation on Phase 2 of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act review. Read more
With its rate cut on 7 August 2019, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand surprised markets and sent a strong signal that unorthodox or unconventional monetary policy could be on the cards. Read more
Read our submission to the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Revenue, and the Inland Revenue Department on the 'Options for taxing the digital economy' discussion document. Read more
The government’s goal of a highly skilled and innovative workforce and an economy that delivers well-paid, decent jobs and broad-based gains from economic growth and productivity, is a laudable aim. Read more
Read The New Zealand Initiative's submission to the Independent Expert Advisory Panel on Phase 2 of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act Review. Read more
The New Zealand Initiative enthusiastically welcomes the Coalition Government’s announcement of an Independent Parliamentary Budget Office. Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Associate Finance Minister James Shaw jointly announced the Office today, to be operational from mid-2021. The Independent Parliamentary Budget Office will monitor the government’s fiscal strategy and provide independent costings of political party policies. Dr Bryce Wilkinson, co-author of the New Zealand Initiative’s 2014 report, Guarding the Public Purse, which called for the establishment of an independent fiscal institution,... Read more
It would be insane to do the same thing over and over again and still expect different results. It’s a lesson those embroiled in the politics of the night have yet to learn. Read more
When Germany’s statistics office released the economic growth rate for the second quarter, the disappointing 0.1 percent decline added to the troubles on Wall St. Read more
It is the hope that this time it will be different that really kills you. Sisyphus at least knew his labours were futile and could resign himself to the task of forever pushing the boulder uphill.A decade ago, Matt Burgess and I went through BERL’s headline-grabbing $4.8 billion measure of alcohol’s social cost. Sir Geoffrey Palmer, heading the Law Commission’s alcohol legislation review, had cited the gap between BERL’s measure of social cost and alcohol tax revenue to justify imposing... Read more
On Monday, Adrian Orr was interviewed on TV One’s Q+A programme. If you had not known that Orr is the Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, you could have mistaken him for a politician.Orr expressed clear views not just on monetary policy but on fiscal policy as well. He urged the Government to spend more, especially on infrastructure.The two policy areas are important to each other but they are not the same. Read more