There is something tragic about watching the United States deliberately harm itself – especially when the damage spills over to everyone else. President Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ trade tariffs are a disaster for America and the world. Read more
Many economists make international trade seem more complicated than it needs to be. Stephen Landsburg had a simple way of explaining it all. Read more
The Reserve Bank has finally acknowledged it must review its controversial 2019 bank capital decision requiring large banks to increase their capital reserves from 10.5% to 18% by 2028. The timing is revealing. Read more
In this episode, Oliver Hartwich interviews the New Zealand Initiative's newest recruit, Benno Blaschke, exploring his extraordinary journey from his Austrian upbringing to becoming passionate about urban economics and housing affordability in New Zealand. They discuss Benno's unique background spanning contemplative practice, academic study, and public service roles before joining the Initiative to contribute to solving housing challenges through economic frameworks rather than continuing in the bureaucracy. Read more
The primary care package recently announced by Health Minister Simeon Brown tackles our GP shortage with overseas doctor placements, more GP trainees and digital healthcare. These welcome initiatives recognise the critical challenges facing general practitioners nationwide. Read more
One of the pleasures of my job as Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative is hosting events with Ministers explaining their new policies to our members. Last week, we hosted Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden at our annual retreat. Read more
About a quarter century ago, my to-be wife introduced me to a card game called Flux. It was popular among the computer science and engineering students in Pittsburgh. Read more
On Newstalk ZB, Trish Sherson discussed New Zealand's defence situation with reference to the Initiative's podcast featuring Dr Oliver Hartwich and former Australian Home Affairs Secretary Michael Pezzullo. Trish emphasised that New Zealand can no longer rely on geographical isolation for security and needs to mature in its approach to regional defence responsibilities. Read more
I am always glad that I am not an economic forecaster. Most people’s exposure to economists is radio or newspaper bits from bank economists making their best guesses about economic growth, the unemployment rate, or the track for interest rates. Read more
My previous columns critiquing President Donald Trump’s constitutional overreach and foreign policy blunders prompted some readers to suggest I had failed to grasp the President’s strategic brilliance. Trump, they insisted, was playing four-dimensional chess while the rest of us fumbled with checkers. Read more
Struggling to think of a good topic for a humorous column this week, I unexpectedly got a major break when my name was – unbelievably – added to a Signal messaging group of top New Zealand government officials. The texts reveal the magnitude of some of the problems that New Zealand politicians have to deal with. Read more
Dr Prabani Wood spoke to Michael Laws on The Platform about her latest report "The Heart of Healthcare: Renewing New Zealand's Primary Care System". Watch below. Read more
Health Minister Brown's primary care package takes aim at the country's critical GP shortage. He is right to be concerned. Read more
The pendulum theory of politics suggests that policies often swing from one extreme to another without finding a balanced middle ground. Consider New Zealand’s supermarkets. Read more
This report highlights the economic benefits of investing in general practice, finding significant potential to ease pressure on hospitals and improve patient care. The Heart of Healthcare: Renewing New Zealand's Primary Care System examines the economic case for strengthening GP services, as Health Minister Simeon Brown recently announced initiatives to address GP shortages. Read more