Bryce is a Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative, and also the Director of the Wellington-based economic consultancy firm Capital Economics. Prior to setting this up in 1997 he was a Director of, and shareholder in, First NZ Capital. Before moving into investment banking in 1985, he worked in the New Zealand Treasury, reaching the position of Director. Bryce holds a PhD in economics from the University of Canterbury and was a Harkness Fellow at Harvard University. He is a Fellow of the Law and Economics Association of New Zealand.
Bryce is available for comment on fiscal issues, our poverty, inequality and welfare research. He also has a strong background in public policy analysis including monetary policy, capital markets research and microeconomic advisory work.
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
Last Friday, Treasury “pro-actively” published its November 2023 Briefings for the Incoming Government. One was on the economic and fiscal context. Read more
On Newstalk ZB, John MacDonald discussed Dr Bryce Wilkinson's NZ Herald article Increased working-age welfare dependency is a problem with callers. Listen John talk about it below. Read more
New Zealand’s welfare system is a problem for beneficiaries, taxpayers and others. Think of those affected by the reported problems in Rotorua from emergency housing in motels. Read more
Wellington City Council’s current leaking water woes epitomise the misplaced spending priorities of successive councils. Wellingtonians now face water rationing in their homes while they see vast quantities of leaked piped water escaping down streets and across pavements. Read more
Thank goodness New Zealand has an Auditor-General who takes his official responsibilities seriously. Last week, he released a damning assessment of recent ministerial processes for making funding decisions on two major infrastructure investment programmes. Read more
Wellington (Wednesday, 20 December 2023) - “Treasury’s updated fiscal and economic forecasts released today confirm that this government faces serious fiscal challenges”, said Dr Bryce Wilkinson, Senior Fellow at the New Zealand Initiative. “The Minister of Finance’s “mini-budget” statement shows she fully ‘gets it’.” “Taxpayers and the recipients of government spending cannot all expect to avoid the burden of those challenges”. Read more
The Coalition Agreement between National and ACT includes a commitment to pass the “Regulatory Standards Act as soon as practicable”. How fast is that? Read more
The incoming Government needs to make improving education a major priority. Achieving that will take decisive action, and many years of effort. Read more
In this research note, we analyse the six-year spending spree of the Sixth Labour government in the context of historical precedents. Elected on the back of an ambitious policy agenda, the Ardern government quickly found itself struggling to balance the books. Read more
How big is the fiscal deficit problem and how long will it take for our governments to turn it around? Do not be fooled by rosy scenarios of painless correction. Read more
History does rhyme, and apocalyptic plays can make a sobering point or two. This government is borrowing heavily to fund current spending. Read more
In this short research note, we have focused on the fiscal performance of the Sixth Labour-led Government. We have pointed out that much of our current predicament comes down to unrealistic plans, lack of commitment to stated intentions, and not enough rigour in fiscal management. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich talks to Dr Bryce Wilkinson about The New Zealand Initiative’s latest research note they have written which analyses Labour’s six-year fiscal record. To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
Wellington (Tuesday, 26 September 2023) - As we approach the 2023 election, New Zealanders must learn from the overly optimistic projections presented by Labour before the 2017 election. New Zealand cannot afford a repeat of this fiscal recklessness. Read more
That is the sign all Ministers of Finance should have on their desk. Treasury’s latest pre-election economic and fiscal update this week forecast cumulative fiscal deficits of $17 billion for the four years ended June 2027. Read more