Eric Crampton is Chief Economist with the New Zealand Initiative.
He applies an economist’s lens to a broad range of policy areas, from devolution and housing policy to student loans and environmental policy. He served on Minister Twyford’s Urban Land Markets Research Group and on Minister Bishop’s Housing Economic Advisory Group.
Most recently, he has been looking at devolution to First Nations in Canada.
He is a regular columnist with Stuff and with Newsroom; his economic and policy commentary appears across most media outlets. He can also be found on Twitter at @ericcrampton.
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
The New Zealand Economics Association annual meetings are a great way of keeping abreast of what the country’s economists are working on. And sometimes they’re downright depressing. Read more
Sean Plunket talks to economist Eric Crampton from the New Zealand Initiative about the Green Party's proposed cap on rent rises.
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The Third Law of Demand Once you see it, you see it everywhere. Married couples who’ve left the kids home with a sitter go out to nicer restaurants than childless couples who have the same income. Read more
They say a week's a long time in politics. But perhaps this week is feeling longer than most for some punters as they get their wallets around various new taxes and the end of old subsidies. Read more
The right to freedom of expression is enshrined in most constitutions and is deemed to be an essential human right under international law. Yet people in many countries face restrictions on their freedom of speech and on other civil liberties. Read more
At the start of National Blood Donor Week, the New Zealand Blood Service warned that it will need more donors. According to the Blood Service’s Asuke Burge, “If we can’t meet demand, it means we are going to be forced to compete in the global market, for particularly plasma products. Read more
Election campaigns should mainly be about the policies a party would enact, if elected. But they’re also about the things a party wouldn’t do. Read more
Labour really should rule out any chance of the Green Party’s proposed wealth tax being part of any coalition agreement. Just consider some of the numbers on what it would do for hurdle rates for wealthy investors in the top income tax bracket. Read more
The primary point of collecting blood plasma is to meet the medical and therapeutic needs of patients. We collect blood and plasma in order to ensure that we can preserve and promote the health of current and future patients. Read more
Wellington (Thursday, 15 June 2023) – Without more donors, the New Zealand Blood Service warns we will rely more heavily on imported plasma products. They’re right. Read more
Nights regular and chief economist with The New Zealand Initiative, Eric Crampton, talks to Mark about the Wellington rates review, and some recent results in urban economics. Read more
Questions are being raised over whether the Green Party's proposed tax overhaul is needed. It's pledging to lift the top tax rate to 45%, corporate taxes to 33%, and slash taxes for earners below $120,000. Read more
Wellington has a lot of problems. No one thing will fix all of them. But the current review of council ratings policy could fix an important problem and provide an example for other urban councils. Read more
It may be too early to read too much into the Government's higher than expected deficit. Latest Treasury figures show the Government has recorded a $7 billion deficit for the ten months to April. Read more
Housing crisis makes growth all about ‘up-and-out’ not ‘up-or-out’ If you want affordable housing, it isn’t a choice between whether people should be able to build townhouses and apartments downtown or subdivisions at the city’s fringes. Cities need to be able to grow in all directions, guided by where people want to live and the cost of providing infrastructure. Read more