Oliver Hartwich writes – One of the pleasures of my job as Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative is hosting events with Ministers explaining their new policies to our members. Last week, we hosted Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden at our annual retreat. I was impressed by the range of policies […]
NZ workplace safety experiment a breath of fresh air
NZ workplace safety experiment a breath of fresh air
12 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, health and safety, labour economics, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights
DON BRASH: NZME can get stuffed – the ad they rejected
12 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, entrepreneurship, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights Tags: affirmative action, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Written by Don Brash in his capacity as Hobson’s Pledge trustee This morning, you were meant to open the New Zealand Herald and see a…
DON BRASH: NZME can get stuffed – the ad they rejected
Putting children first
12 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: child welfare
Karen Chhour announced: Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has welcomed the passing of legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act by Parliament. The Bill’s passing will enable Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for Children and its frontline staff to focus first and foremost on the safety and wellbeing of children when creating care arrangements, says Minister […]
Putting children first
Finally common sense for drug approvals
12 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, health economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice
David Seymour announced: Associate Health Minister David Seymour is welcoming Cabinet’s decision to enable medicines to be approved in less than 30 days if the product has approval from two recognised overseas jurisdictions. This change is included in the Medicines Amendment Bill (the Bill), which amends the Medicines Act 1981. The pathway will be in […]
Finally common sense for drug approvals
Why Tariffs Don’t Cause and Won’t Fix Trade Deficits
12 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, international economics, politics - USA Tags: free trade, tarrifs, unintended consequences
There’s a fundamental misconception at the root of President Trump’s tariff policies, which is the mistaken claim that the existence of a US trade deficit proves that trade is unfair. There are two related mistaken claims. One is a claim that if tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade were removed, then trade would be balanced.…
Why Tariffs Don’t Cause and Won’t Fix Trade Deficits
The challenge facing Andrew Little to become Mayor of Wellington
11 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
Peter Dunne writes – Should former Labour leader and Minister Andrew Little decide to seek the Wellington Mayoralty later this year he will have a very good, but by no means guaranteed, chance of winning. Little was regarded in national politics as a reasonable, competent safe pair of hands, although sometimes his passion got the […]
The challenge facing Andrew Little to become Mayor of Wellington
“Coercive Control”: Parents Could Lose Custody Under Proposed Colorado Law for “Misgendering”
11 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of love and marriage, gender, health economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
Parental rights are emerging as one of the major civil liberties movements of this generation — and one of the greatest conflicts between the right and the left in this country. For example, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled schools can hide a change of gender in young children from […]
“Coercive Control”: Parents Could Lose Custody Under Proposed Colorado Law for “Misgendering”
Paper Tigers? Princeton Faces Test Over Free Speech Following Disruption of Bennett Speech
10 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of education, International law, law and economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights, war and peace Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
In sports, many are saying that it is a “great year to be a Princeton tiger.” The question this week is whether the same is true for free speech at Princeton. For years, we followed free speech controversies at the school over the investigation of dissenting faculty, the targeting of critics, and general intolerance for […]
Paper Tigers? Princeton Faces Test Over Free Speech Following Disruption of Bennett Speech
NPR Repeats False Claim That the Court Rejected Claims of Government Involvement in Censorship Efforts
10 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in liberalism, libertarianism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Leila Fadel and National Public Radio recently interviewed me on free speech. While the program ominously warned that “what you’re about to hear is hate speech” in playing extreme voices on the right, it did interview me and former Columbia University president Lee Bollinger from the free speech community. I wanted to address a statement […]
NPR Repeats False Claim That the Court Rejected Claims of Government Involvement in Censorship Efforts
When Genius Failed
10 Apr 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, business cycles, economic growth, economics of information, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, financial economics, global financial crisis (GFC), history of economic thought, industrial organisation, macroeconomics, politics - USA
Myron Scholes was on top of the world in 1997, having won the Nobel Prize in economics that year for his work in financial economics, work that he had applied in the real world in a wildly successful hedge fund, Long Term Capital Management. But just one year later, LTCM was saved from collapse only […]
When Genius Failed
THE TRIALS OF HARRY S. TRUMAN: THE EXTRAORDINARY PRESIDENCY OF AN ORDINARY MAN, 1945-1953 by Jeffrey Frank
09 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: Korean war, World War II
(President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Vice President elect Harry S. Truman, Vice President Henry Wallace) During my forty-four year teaching career on the secondary and university level I was often asked; “Who is your favorite President?” The answer came very easily, Harry S. Truman. My response was based on his personality, moral code, and his actions […]
THE TRIALS OF HARRY S. TRUMAN: THE EXTRAORDINARY PRESIDENCY OF AN ORDINARY MAN, 1945-1953 by Jeffrey Frank
Take Thyself to Texas: The Supreme Court Rules For Trump on Stay and Jurisdiction Over Deportations
09 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: 2024 presidential election, constitutional law, economics of immigration
In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court delivered a victory to the Trump Administration on the deportations under the 1798…
Take Thyself to Texas: The Supreme Court Rules For Trump on Stay and Jurisdiction Over Deportations
Resource Management and Property Rights
08 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, environmental economics, industrial organisation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights Tags: housing affordability, land supply
Brian Easton writes – While there have been decades of complaints – from all sides – about the workings of the Resource Management Act (RMA), replacing is proving difficult. The Coalition Government is making another attempt. To help answer the question, I am going to use the economic lens of the Coase Theorem, set out […]
Resource Management and Property Rights
Some great sentencing changes
07 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order
Paul Goldsmith announced the sentencing reforms passed third reading. While the revised three strikes law was so watered down to be almost useless, these law changes are much more meaningful and welcome. They include:
Some great sentencing changes
The Regulation Review Committee’s tikanga decision
07 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of education, economics of regulation, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, occupational regulation, politics - New Zealand, property rights Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
The Committee probably went as far as it could Gary Judd writes – What the Committee did The Regulation Review Committee decided (1) that making tikanga a compulsory subject for law students did not unduly trespass on personal rights and liberties, but (2) requiring tikanga to be incorporated in the other compulsory subjects was an […]
The Regulation Review Committee’s tikanga decision
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