Insights
‘E’ is for entrepreneur
So next time you are looking for a better bargain, or a new job, you may feel a little like Gordon Gekko, Citizen Kane or Mr Burns: we are all entrepreneurs now … even the French.
Month: March 2014
Insights
Still a long path to an NZ/EU free-trade deal
There are at least three obstacles that are in the way of a free trade agreement with the Europeans. First, Europe has other priorities at the moment. Second, the EU remains an organisation with protectionist instincts. And third, we may have more to gain from a deal with the EU than vice versa.
Business Spectator
The secrets of great managers
Just because a recommendation was simple and straightforward does not make it wrong. It is the obvious solutions that sometimes work best. Just ask Tom Peters.
Business Spectator
Why government spending doesn’t pay
Markets are very good mechanisms for allocating resources via the price mechanism. By destroying the price mechanism, and by also undermining the incentives to disciplines of the market place, government almost by definition weakens the economy’s potential.
Insights
‘C’ is for competition
To promote competition, the most important things regulators can do is to just let it evolve. Competition does not need encouragement, nor does it need to be mandated. It is just what happens naturally when scarce resources meet unlimited demands. Rainforests do not need gardeners, either.
Business Spectator
The slow death of Europe’s utility icon
In witnessing the first annual loss of RWE, we are watching the decline of a once great company. It has been brought down not by mismanagement but by political forces beyond its control. As such, it is a textbook example of political risk.
Business Spectator
Europe’s para-democratic madness
Far from being a celebration of democracy — the European elections are actually the second-largest democratic elections in the world after India — they will only emphasise what is wrong with Europe.