In order to have a vibrant and successful economy, New Zealand must be able to seize hold of opportunities as they present themselves.
Archaic regulations can restrict the uptake of new technologies, while political expediency can trump sound policy proposals on matters of foreign direct investment.
Our research into this area covers everything from Special Economic Zones; to whether interest-free student loans have been a progressive or regressive measure.
Tax Working Group’s proposed rate of capital gains tax one of the most penal in the world. 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
Read The New Zealand Initiative's submission to Parliament's Transport and Infrastructure Committee on the Building Amendment Bill. Read more
Read The New Zealand Initiative's submission to the Environment Committee on the Crown Minerals (Petroleum) Amendment Bill. Read more
Read The New Zealand Initiative's submission to the Treasury on New Zealand’s Fiscal Policy Framework: Establishing an Independent Fiscal Institution. Read more
It seemed a simple enough question. It was, really. So why did it take more than two months to get an answer under the Official Information Act? Read more
“What do we want? Evidence-based policy! When do we want it? After peer review!” Read more
Complaining about a housing crisis in New Zealand has become a national sport, spawning all sorts of wrong policy remedies. Read more
In the mid‐1980s, New Zealand was forced into a major economic restructuring. Those adjustments were particularly significant for the traded goods sector, since export subsidies and import barriers were largely eliminated. Some may see the UK's possible trade restructuring after Brexit as retracing some of New Zealand's steps. Read more
Oscar Wilde once quipped that a cynic was “a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing”. That saying has since migrated to refer to economists. Allegedly, our depraved profession values only money. But for our widespread incompetence we would all be rich. In fact, deep down economics is about value, not cash. Economists do not loaf around in universities and government agencies to get rich. Read more