Eric is the Chief Economist at The New Zealand Initiative. With the Initiative, he has worked in policy areas ranging from freshwater management to policy for earthquake preparedness, and from local government to technology policy. He has recently focused on policy related to Covid-19 response. He served as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Economics at the Department of Economics & Finance at the University of Canterbury from 2003 through 2014.
Eric’s columns and commentary appear regularly in New Zealand’s major media outlets, as well as on his blog, Offsetting Behaviour. He can also be found on Twitter at @ericcrampton .
Submission: Transforming Recycling - Container Return Scheme (2022)
Submission: Wellington Council on the Draft Economic Wellbeing Strategy (2022)
Submission: Managing exotic afforestation incentives (2022)
Submission: The market study into residential building supplies preliminary issues paper (2022)
Submission: Issues raised at the consultation conference on the Commission's market study into the retail grocery sector draft report (2021)
Submission: Resource management enabling housing supply and other matters Amendment Bill (2021)
Submission: Covid-19 public health response Amendment Bill (no 2) (2021)
Research Note: Safer arrivals and the path to 2022 (2021)
Submission: The market study into the retail grocery sector draft report (2021)
Fording the rapids: Charting a course to fresher water (2021)
Submission: Proposals for a smokefree Aotearoa 2025 action plan (2021)
Submission: Inquiry into congestion pricing in Auckland (2021)
Policy Point: A risky place to do business (2021)
Roadmap for Recovery: Briefing to the Incoming Government (2020)
Submission: Smokefree environments and regulated products Act 1990: Proposals for regulations (2021)
Democracy in the Dark (2020)
Research Note: Safe Arrivals (2020)
Policy Point: Open for minds: export education and recovery (2020)
Submission: Smokefree environments and regulated products (vaping) Amendment Bill (2020)
Policy Point: Stay on Target (2020)
Research Note: Effective Treatment: Public policy prescription for a pandemic (2020)
Policy Point: Time to process (2020)
Scroll down to read the rest of Eric's work.
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
It was always possible for a lot of cars to be built in New Zealand. It never made any particular sense, but it was within the realm of the physically possible. Read more
It’s comforting to think that necessity is the mother of invention. By that account, come the time, the inventor will rise, and problems will be solved. Read more
Last week’s CPI figures, showing an annual inflation rate of 1.4% in the December quarter, were accompanied by a warning from the Council of Trade Unions’ economist Craig Renney. He noted that inflation hits the poor harder than other groups. Read more
If land use and housing regulations prevent metropolitan areas from growing up or out as demand for housing increases, there is only one avenue of adjustment left. Prices increase. Read more
Last week, the government finally released the Simpson-Roche report detailing the failures that led to August’s Covid outbreak in Auckland. Some of the failures, like inadequate testing regimes for MIQ staff and border workers, were entirely preventable. Read more
They thought banning migrant farm labour would boost wages for native-born farm workers. They were wrong. Read more
Eric Crampton joins Newstalk ZB to analyse the latest GDP figures. Read more
Canada’s carbon tax is set to rise from its current $30 per tonne ($33 NZD) to $170 per tonne ($188 NZD) by 2030. A credible price on carbon is the strongest commitment a country can make in reducing carbon emissions. Read more
In this episode of the New Zealand Initiative podcast, Eric Crampton talks with University of Waikato economics professor John Gibson about a worrying draft report from the Productivity Commission and NZIER which suggests seasonal workers in the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme should be scaled back. If you would like to listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
Decades ago, sociologist Joel Best wrote about how to lie with statistics. The best tricks are those where a statement is word-for-word true but has nothing to do with reality. Read more
The holiday season always brings the requisite warnings about the summer road toll. Drive to the conditions, and the faster the speed, the bigger the mess. Read more
In this episode of the Initiative’s Freely Speaking podcast, Matt Burgess, Eric Crampton and Oliver Hartwich trade hypotheses on why the New Zealand housing market is so broken with a few comparisons in Europe and how a change of incentives for local councils might be a big part of the solution. If you would like to listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
Air compressor tanks come with a maximum pressure rating. The things are built to handle pressure, but only so much. Read more
Thanks for tuning in to the New Zealand Initiative’s Freely Speaking podcast where the style is casual, the topics are important and the brakes are off. In this episode, around the table is executive director Oliver Hartwich, chief economist Eric Crampton, senior fellow Bryce Wilkinson and chief editor Nathan Smith. Read more
It sounds so easy: If waiting on a Covid-19 test, stay home. It’s probably just a cold, but the costs if it isn’t are high. Read more