New Zealand – Page 56 – Dr Oliver Hartwich

Interest.co.nz

Friday’s Top 10

11 July 2014

Economic forecasts were, of course, only invented to make weather forecasters look better. And, as Churchill said, if you ask two economists you get two opinions, unless one of them was Keynes in which case you get three. With no shortage of jokes about economists and their ability to foresee the future, Callam Pickering asks why the profession does not do better – and why forecasts are still useful.

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Other publications

Housing and immigration: is the tail wagging the dog?

19 June 2014

Migrants who bring their skills to this country, who are willing to make a contribution and ready to become a part of the community, are an asset. They will add strength and diversity to the country, and make it a better place – as generations of migrants have done before them.

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Folded copy of The National Business Review

What did the Brits do for us?

13 June 2014

There is something that is undoubtedly special about Britain. It is not just a small, rainy island in the North Atlantic. It is not just another mid-sized northern hemisphere country. In many ways, Britain has been, and still is, much more than that.

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Anti-migration populism hurts not helps the economy

23 May 2014

Published in The National Business Review (Auckland), 23 May 2014 (PDF) Budget day last week was dominated by the usual focus on the return to surplus, some new spending pledges and discussions of potential future tax cuts. Soon afterward, however, commentators and politicians discovered the Treasury papers contained some political dynamite outside the core of fiscal […]

Insights

Prudence in the years of plenty

16 May 2014

Bill English’s achievements of the past six years of adversity are remarkable. He now has to defend them in the coming years of plenty.

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Insights

Labour’s monetary upgrade

2 May 2014

Those who believe they can neatly choose between higher unemployment and higher inflation, typically end up with both. Labour does not seem to be aware that policies which will drive down the exchange rate and boost employment can even have a price level effect.

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Interest.co.nz

We need to be much less restrictive in welcoming foreign direct investment

30 April 2014

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.

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Insights

There is no magic in numbers

17 April 2014

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.

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Councils need new funding sources

17 April 2014

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.

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Interest.co.nz

Friday’s Top 10

11 April 2014

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.

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