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

Four-year fixed terms? Bring it on!

15/02/2013
Of course political observers love the spectacle and drama of elections campaigns. But all this excitement is not an end in itself. Its real purpose is to constitute both a parliament and a government that do their jobs well. And for this reason, fixed four-year terms would improve New Zealand’s democracy.

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Insights

Missing benefits of the high dollar

08/02/2013
As the New Zealand dollar reached an all-time high against the British pound and keeps rising against the US dollar, the euro and other major currencies, New Zealand manufacturers are renewing their complaints about the damaging effects of our strong currency. However, currency movements usually produce losers and winners. Just as domestic exporters suffer from a rising kiwi dollar, domestic importers benefit from increased international purchasing power.

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Insights

WoFs, frogs, and broken windows

01/02/2013
The purpose of vehicle testing is safety – not creating employment. But as one of my favourite German proverbs goes: “If you want to drain a pond, you shouldn’t ask the frogs for permission.”

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Insights

The other doping scandal

25/01/2013
Artificially creating money does not make a country any more prosperous. If it were different we would have solved the basic economic problem of scarcity long ago.

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Insights

Final Insights for 2012

14/12/2012
As you know, 2012 was an eventful year for The New Zealand Initiative, not in the least because it was our first. Following the merger of our two predecessors, The New Zealand Institute and the Business Roundtable, my team and I have worked hard to build a credible and exciting new think tank in New Zealand.

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Insights

TPP welcome, but no panacea

30/11/2012
An extended TPP may have a positive effect on FDI – and New Zealand certainly needs to improve its FDI performance. But we should not expect the TPP to be a game-changer. Instead, we need to focus more on welcoming international investors, whether from TPP member countries or not.

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Insights

America’s real choice

09/11/2012
What the United States can least afford is four more years of election campaign-style politics. Both camps must work together to avert fiscal disaster. But are Democrats and Republicans willing to cooperate for positive change?

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Insights

Affordable housing is more than a motherhood statement

02/11/2012
In considering housing and planning reforms, we need to understand why New Zealand’s housing market is failing to adjust to increases in demand. This is the core question. Once we have found the answer, we will be able to design policies that will restore housing affordability.

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