AI summary of my living wage paper
24 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, history of economic thought, income redistribution, job search and matching, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, minimum wage, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: living wage
Is very clear Tamihere is the true leader of Te Pāti Māori
22 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
The Post reports: Indeed, she says in her sworn affidavit that Tamihere had been chairing the weekly caucus meetings of MPs in Parliament since September. And it was he who sent Kapa-Kingi an ‘ultimatum’ on her overspending that sent the simmering issue into overdrive. To have the party president chair caucus instead of the leader…
Is very clear Tamihere is the true leader of Te Pāti Māori
My first AI op-ed summary
21 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, economics of education, economics of information, entrepreneurship, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, politics - New Zealand Tags: gender wage gap
Crampton on theft from greyhounds
18 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, sports economics Tags: animal rights, Animal welfare, racing, takings
Eric Crampton writes: Legislation before Parliament bans greyhound racing over animal welfare considerations. Buying out the industry, shutting it down, and rehoming the dogs would seem right if you thought animal welfare warranted it. The legislation instead proposes shuttering Greyhound Racing New Zealand and an assortment of private racing clubs. Their net assets will be handed…
Crampton on theft from greyhounds
DON BRASH – RMA Reform: A step forward. But concerns for equal citizenship
18 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, regulation, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, racial discrimination, zoning
The following is written in Don’s capacity as trustee for Hobson’s Pledge: It is almost the end of 2025 and, as you may know, the Government has recently introduced to Parliament the two Bills it seeks to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA) with. The Bills were pushed through first reading under urgency and have…
DON BRASH – RMA Reform: A step forward. But concerns for equal citizenship
JOHN RAINE: DRIVE CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY WITH EVIDENCE NOT ALARMISM
14 Dec 2025 1 Comment
in economic history, economics of climate change, economics of education, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: climate alarmism
The Challenge of Opening Closed Minds The media and many politicians worldwide continue to push a narrative of impending climate catastrophe. Whether or not you are a climate change pessimist, we live on a gradually warming planet and will need to adapt to this. As global temperature rise continues, alarmists will continue to ascribe much…
JOHN RAINE: DRIVE CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY WITH EVIDENCE NOT ALARMISM
Time to Stop Pretending Renewables Are Cheap
14 Dec 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, entrepreneurship, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: celebrity technologies, solar power, wind power
Policymakers would do well to heed energy experts like Schernikau and Stein. Chasing luxury beliefs do not cost well-heeled climate bureaucrats and renewables ideologues much, but the burdens of irrational energy policies will be borne by the world’s poorest. The real path forward lies in pragmatic, technology-neutral approaches that prioritise energy abundance over austerity.
Time to Stop Pretending Renewables Are Cheap
The Minister for Abundance
13 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, politics - New Zealand
Joel McManus at The Spinoff writes: Bishop sided with former Wellington mayor Tory Whanau’s call to allow more housing in the capital, even though every conservative councillor was opposed. He made Christchurch zone for high-density housing, which centre-right mayor Phil Mauger called a “kick in the guts”. In Auckland he could barely disguise his glee…
The Minister for Abundance
New Zealand’s Planning Revolution: bye bye RMA
13 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning
Inside the reform that will change how New Zealand is built Ani O’Brien writes – If you’ve ever tried to build a deck, subdivide a section, or watched a major infrastructure project slowly suffocate in a decade of “consenting hell,” you already know the RMA is New Zealand’s great productivity killer. For over 30 years, […]
New Zealand’s Planning Revolution: bye bye RMA
Greyhound racing law change is legal overreach
12 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, sports economics Tags: constitutional law, takings
Oliver Hartwich writes – Let me state this clearly at the outset: I have never placed a bet on a greyhound. I have never owned a greyhound. If I were a dog, I would likely prefer a soft sofa to a hard track. I am not writing this because I have a passion for racing, […]
Greyhound racing law change is legal overreach
Getting NZ building again
11 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights
Defending Nicola, and critiquing her
11 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in fiscal policy, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand
Media have reported that there may be a debate between Nicola Willis and Ruth Richardson over fiscal policy. I thought it would be useful to lay out what I see as the key fiscal problem, and put context around it. Now I’m not unbiased here. Nicola I regard as a long standing friend. We were…
Defending Nicola, and critiquing her
Not surprised TPM lost the injunction
11 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - New Zealand
Stuff reported: Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi has been reinstated after an interim judgment by the High Court. The Te Tai Tokerau MP had sought the injunction against her party’s decision to expel her, claiming her expulsion breached numerous parts of the constitution. On Friday, Justice Paul Radich confirmed to Stuff that Kapa-King should be reinstated…
Not surprised TPM lost the injunction
The state of the books
11 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, fiscal policy, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, public economics
Eric Crampton writes – StatsNZ has put up its year-end accounts for the government, split out across functional areas. Their data goes back to 2009 in the main table; I’m sure earlier data’s available somewhere in Infoshare. But sticking with the Excel sheet they’ve provided, we can lob in June-year population statistics and June quarter […]
The state of the books
Why does Labour select so few Maori for winnable general seats?
10 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, politics - New Zealand Tags: racial discrimination
It is interesting to look at the list of Maori MPs who have won general electorates in NZ. The list is: So the breakdown by party is: Of Labour’s nine Maori MPs who won an electorate seat, five of them were in the 2020 landslide. Prior to that there had been only four. Just four…
Why does Labour select so few Maori for winnable general seats?
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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