When Oliver Hartwich suggested my next research note, I thought he was joking. It was a single question: What is a frigate? Read more
The Commerce Commission’s retail grocery competition inquiries always had the wrong focus. If there are enormous profits to be made in groceries, why is nobody else trying to steal them away? Read more
The Opportunity Party wants to be known as the party of ideas. Now polling near five percent, I decided to test one. Read more
On July 5, the Prime Minister announced plans for free trade agreements with seven more countries, on top of the deal with India he signed in April. The next day, a Chinese submarine fired a missile from the South China Sea into the Pacific. Read more
When France celebrates its national holiday today, it will look much the same as always. There will be the usual aircraft flyover and the cavalry parading past the president. Read more
Nostalgia is a wonderful state of mind but, almost by definition, it glorifies the past while ignoring things that were not so good. Many older New Zealanders are nostalgic for the 1970s. Read more
The United States celebrated its 250th birthday this weekend. Like all those who are told that their glory years are behind them, my country showcased its youth and inexperience with much rejoicing. Read more
Among prosperous nations, New Zealand is relatively a low-income country. That hurts. Read more
In 1973, 843 people died on New Zealand roads. Last year, with far more people driving far more cars, the provisional toll was 272. Read more
Fourteen New Zealand restaurants picked up a Michelin star last week, the first time Michelin had rated New Zealand at all. One reached two stars. Read more
Every July, members of the New Zealand Association of Economists – academics, practitioners, and officials – meet to tell each other what they’ve been working on. Work presented tends to be work-in-progress. Read more
Ten years ago, the NZ Initiative brought a Canadian diplomat to Wellington to explain how Canada let ordinary citizens sponsor refugees. Dean Barry told us that when Canadian communities pledged to support one more refugee, Canada admitted one more. Read more
Local government reform has turned into a numbers game. The government’s ‘Head Start’ asks how many councils we should have, and where the lines between their jurisdictions should be drawn. Read more
Choice, competition and open markets provide strong consumer protection. The risk that a customer might shift to a competitor, or to another type of product entirely, provides discipline. Read more
Victoria University of Wellington wants the teachers it trains to be ‘agents of change.’ According to the university’s handbook for teacher education programmes, teaching graduates must be committed to “social, cultural, and ecological justice.” Decoded, that means attending protests about political causes the activists lecturers find important. Providing teachers with skills to manage a classroom is not part of the brief. Read more
