Year: 2014

Europe’s policy paralysis has been of a similar nature in the euro crisis. The basic problem is the same as in relation to Ukraine: The interests of European nations are too different to be held together by multilateral treaties and international organisations. When push comes to shove, such institutions are unable to reconcile any conflicts. They only work in a conflict-free environment.

New Zealand affords itself the luxury of treating overseas investment as a privilege rather than as a necessary and desirable means of better integrating ourselves with the world, so as to make the most of what it has to offer.

What may look like the euro’s strength is not quite what it seems. The eurozone remains as fragmented as ever, and neither Draghi’s words nor any real actions of his central bank will make a difference to this basic problem. The only way to tackle it would be a departure of some members from monetary union.

Whether there is enough competition in the New Zealand retail sector, is hard to tell. First of all, you would need to decide on how to measure it. But one thing is clear: a superficial look just at the number of competitors is not enough to accuse them of anti-competitive behaviour.

Knowing something about the development of economics can save you from having to reinvent the wheel. As Hayek once said, “in economics you can never establish a truth once and for all but have always to convince every generation anew.” Economic knowledge easily gets forgotten if one is unaware of its history.

LGNZ’s inquiry into local government funding makes sense. It should not stop there. In fact, what would be needed is an investigation into the role of local government, coupled with the question of how a new local government finance framework could incentivise councils to go for growth and development.

If there was a ranking for the most self-righteous nation in Europe, Germany would have a good chance of topping the list. Sure, without Germany’s support the euro may have already gone under, but the Germans are extremely good at coupling such help to their neighbours with unrequited advice on how to run their countries. As if Germany was some kind of role model that all the rest of the world should follow!

This week, American airlines demonstrate how markets respond to changing scarcity levels. Due to unrest caused by drug cartels and flooding from heavy rains in Mexico and a drought in California, the price of limes had skyrocketed. Passengers would not need to know about these background developments but they might notice that there is something else in their drinks.