Insights

‘Insights’ is the weekly newsletter of The New Zealand Initiative. Every Friday it provides comment pieces on domestic and global policy issues and the state of the world as such. It is a newsletter serious enough for a think tank – and lighthearted enough for an enjoyable Friday afternoon read. Please subscribe to ‘Insights’ by visiting the website of The New Zealand Initiative: www.nzinitiative.org.nz

Insights

What if there’s no exit?

07/06/2013
The global economy may appear to have calmed somewhat since those stormy days when Lehman Brothers collapsed in late 2008. But it’s just the calm before an even fiercer storm.

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Insights

Wellington is alive

10/05/2013
It is often said that nobody voluntarily moves to Wellington, but after a few weeks here hardly anyone wants to leave it. It certainly was like this for me.

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Insights

How serious are the Greens about their energy proposal?

26/04/2013
To link the debate about the best market structure for the electricity sector to the question of executive pay makes one wonder how sincere the Greens really are about their proposals. Are they driven by the wish to develop and discuss good economic policy? Or is it only about scoring political points?

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Insights

Stick with inflation targeting

28/03/2013
Manufacturers and exporters have been complaining about the high Kiwi dollar for a long time. Opposition politicians are openly toying with the idea of changing the Reserve Bank’s mandate to manipulate the exchange rate downwards. The question is, if inflation targeting was abandoned in favour of managing the exchange rate, would it actually work?

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Insights

Humility rediscovered

22/03/2013
To restrain yourself and not take yourself too seriously; to accept that one may be wrong and others right; to be tolerant of different opinions; and to meet in a spirit of equality and politeness – these are not religious demands but in fact the foundations of a free, civil society.

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Insights

Language competence is a benefit

15/03/2013
For countries whose official language is English, there may not be the immediate business imperative to learn other languages since world trade is dominated by English. Despite this, other English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia are realising the benefits of language instruction and promoting second languages at school.

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Insights

An Italian hell

01/03/2013
Just when many commentators thought the euro crisis was over, Italy’s political earthquake has put it back on the agenda. The problem is not so much that it is practically impossible to form a stable government with different majorities in the two houses of parliament. The real issue is that the anti-austerity forces in Italy have won a large majority.

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