Dr Oliver Hartwich Views from Wellington

Russia has won the war without firing a single shot

Putin may have just built up the threat of an invasion as a bluff. And why would he now want to risk economic sanctions following a war when he has already achieved his major objectives without one? [...]
Moving beyond the pandemic

Covid dominated the headlines in 2021, other policy areas received less attention than deserved. So, what will 2022 bring? [...]
Do politicians need economics degrees?

Perhaps high office holders do not need a higher education, let alone an economics degree. But they should at least know, and respect, the limits of their power. [...]
Social insurance lessons from Germany

Would we really like to end up with an arrangement that puts a massive wedge between people’s gross and net incomes? A system, by the way, that also harms employment outcomes, especially for the most vulnerable? [...]
Unemployment insurance is anti-social

Were the innocently titled ‘social unemployment insurance’ better understood, the project would be gone by lunchtime. [...]

A magic dwells in every platitude

30/11/2021

The best thing about the German coalition document is that it shows the three parties are able to work together. Though not magical, it is a good start. [...]
Reading with the light switched on

26/11/2021

We do not want to return to Jane Austen’s times when class and background determined a child’s success in education and life. [...]
Wanted: A long-term vision for New Zealand

19/11/2021

If this Government has a long-term vision, it keeps it to itself. But whatever it is, Kiwis deserve to know it – and to figure out if they like where the Government wants to lead them. [...]
Cynically exploiting EU’s divisions

16/11/2021

After simmering for many months, the Belarusian-organised refugee crisis is heating up in the Eastern European cold. [...]
The end of the Bundesbank era

02/11/2021

With Jens Weidmann’s imminent departure, the ECB will lose its most hawkish governor. The move will also symbolise the ECB’s transition into a less stability-oriented institution – right when high inflation expectations in Europe are taking hold. [...]
Bipartisan progress on housing

22/10/2021

Sometimes, when the Legislature is in session, good policy may indeed be the outcome. [...]
Independent journalism under threat, not just in Russia

19/10/2021

Good journalism means more than standing up to autocrats. It means not getting into bed with politicians of any kind, not even democratic ones – and not even those one agrees with. And certainly not those who fund the newspaper you write for. [...]
Generation Lockdown

01/10/2021

There is a major surprise hidden in the overall result of the German elections. That surprise lies in the voting behaviour of first-time voters. [...]
Germany faces coalition conundrum

27/09/2021

Germany has voted. The result is not an earthquake, but a landslide. A change of power is looming after 16 years of Christian Democrat-led federal governments. [...]
Angela Merkel governed Germany for 16 years, but never led

26/09/2021

Merkel has governed Germany for 16 years, but she never led it. [...]

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