Don Brash writes – In recent years, when addressing Rotary and other audiences, I often talk about the five big challenges facing New Zealand – persistently slow growth in productivity, and therefore in income levels; ridiculously unaffordable house prices; the increasing division of our society into those with a Maori ancestor and those without; the […]
Do rising house prices damage economic growth?
Do rising house prices damage economic growth?
01 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, regulation, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: housing affordability
A ‘revolution’ in electioneering? The impact of the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act
01 Sep 2025 1 Comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics Tags: bribery and corruption, British politics
Concluding her series on the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act, Dr Kathryn Rix of our House of Commons, 1832-1945 project looks at the long-term consequences of this major reform. In the wake of the corruption and expense of the 1880 general election, Sir Henry James, attorney general in Gladstone’s Liberal government, oversaw a landmark piece of […]
A ‘revolution’ in electioneering? The impact of the 1883 Corrupt Practices Act
The gift of the Greens
30 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
Roger Partridge writes: The Greens’ coronation of Chlöe Swarbrick at last weekend’s AGM delivered a manifesto for economic transformation that would make Soviet economists nostalgic for their glory days. Swarbrick delivered a speech that was part meditation retreat, part political rally. She declared her party “leading the Opposition,” positioned herself as Finance Minister-in-waiting, and announced…
The gift of the Greens
The Rhetoric and Realities of Gun Control
30 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: gun control
Within minutes of the shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic Church Mass on Wednesday, politicians and pundits were calling for new gun control measures and blaming conservatives for the deaths of the children. These are the same calls that have emerged after past shootings for everything from a ban on “assault weapons” to a total ban […]
The Rhetoric and Realities of Gun Control
David Splinter on how much tax billionaires pay
30 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, entrepreneurship, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment
Here is his comment on the paper presented here: Summary: The U.S. tax system is highly progressive. Effective tax rates increase from 2% for the bottom quintile of income to 45% for the top hundredth of one percent. But rates may be lower among those with the highest wealth. This comment starts with the “top 400” […]
David Splinter on how much tax billionaires pay
By-election puts co-governance in spotlight
29 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
Graham Adams writes – In brief Labour’s Peeni Henare says the quiet parts of party policy out loud. He promises $1b in funding for Māori initiatives. He reminds voters Labour will revive the Māori Health Authority. Ardern’s black-armband compulsory “histories” to reappear in schools. A sense of unreality hangs over the contest between New Zealand’s […]
By-election puts co-governance in spotlight
Running it up the Flagpole: Why the Trump Order on Flag Burning is Unconstitutional
29 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in economics of education, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
In the advertising world, there is an old adage that there are times when you take a pitch and “run it up the flagpole and see who salutes.” That expression came to mind yesterday when President Donald Trump signed an order to punish flag burning. The President may be hoping that the Supreme Court might salute […]
Running it up the Flagpole: Why the Trump Order on Flag Burning is Unconstitutional
Judge undermines government intent
28 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand
The National coalition government banned the wearing of gang patches in public places in November 2024. The legislation states: If a person pleads guilty to, or is convicted of, an offence against subsection (1), the gang insignia concerned— (a) is forfeited to the Crown; and (b) may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of as the court,…
Judge undermines government intent
The smallest gender pay gap in history
28 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, econometerics, economic history, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality Tags: gender wage gap, sex discrimination
Stats NZ reports: The gender pay gap was 5.2 percent in the June 2025 quarter, down from 8.2 percent in the June 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. “The June 2025 quarter gender pay gap of 5.2 percent is the lowest since the series began in 1998,” labour market spokesperson Abby […]
The smallest gender pay gap in history
Civitas Institute’s Tariff Symposium
28 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, development economics, history of economic thought, international economics, politics - USA Tags: tarrifs
TweetThe Civitas Institute at UT-Austin just published a superb symposium on tariffs, with contributions by Richard Epstein, Samuel Gregg, Dirk Mateer, Dominic Pino, and my intrepid Mercatus Center colleague, Veronique de Rugy. Below are some slices. “The Man Who Knew Too Little: Donald Trump on Tariffs” (Richard Epstein): It is a dangerous state of affairs…
Civitas Institute’s Tariff Symposium
The greyhound racing ban
27 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice Tags: animal rights, Animal welfare
Winston Peters announced: Cabinet has formally agreed this week to the closure of the greyhound racing industry in New Zealand. A bill will be drafted to bring this decision into law. The move follows last December’s announcement of the Government’s in-principle decision to end greyhound racing as of 31 July 2026. The decision was made […]
The greyhound racing ban
Who is willing to sacrifice the poor at the Green Altar?
26 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
Why we must stand up to anti-human activists. Ani O’Brien writes – We need to stand up to the anti-human activists who treat ordinary people as collateral damage in their crusade. Their vision of “climate justice” is really just human misery dressed up as virtue. Every time New Zealanders open a power bill, they’re reminded […]
Who is willing to sacrifice the poor at the Green Altar?
If the election was scheduled for next week, Hipkins could win – but (luckily for Luxon) it’s next year
26 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in economic growth, inflation targeting, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: 2026 general election
Chris Trotter writes – “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune”. Those words, taken from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, are often quoted in the context of politicians facing the hard choice between doing it now, or not doing it at all.
If the election was scheduled for next week, Hipkins could win – but (luckily for Luxon) it’s next year
Some Links
25 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, international economics, politics - New Zealand
TweetJeff Jacoby eloquently argues that “the convictions that count are the ones that sometimes sting.” A slice: What makes this problem worse is the increasingly common belief that only those who agree with us are legitimate participants in American life. Too many on the right write off their opponents as anti-American, while too many on…
Some Links
Ten questions we would have asked of Ardern, Hipkins, Robertson and Verrall
25 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, health economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: economics of pandemics
Ananish Chaudhuri and John Gibson write – It is a pity that the Ministers who were central to formulating our Covid response have refused to show up to public hearings. We understand that in the past, private interviews of Ministers may have been the norm. But according to this same group, Covid was a once […]
Ten questions we would have asked of Ardern, Hipkins, Robertson and Verrall
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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