Humpty Dumpty would have fun with the Policy Targets Agreement (PTA) between Finance Minister Grant Robertson and the new governor of the Reserve Bank, Adrian Orr: “When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master – that’s all.” The world of monetary economics is not quite as colourful as the characters in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. However, the governor may find himself in the role of Humpty Dumpty when interpreting his political directives. Read more

This week, the Reserve Bank finally got a new Governor. Adrian Orr, formerly chief executive of the Super Fund, replaced caretaker-governor Grant Spencer. Read more

Few countries run as much on informal relationships as New Zealand. It is both due to our small size and our aversion to hierarchies. Read more

US President Donald Trump’s new protectionism is populist, wrong and dangerous. Sadly, that does not mean that his loudest opponents can automatically claim the moral high ground. Read more

If there is one lesson from our species’ past, it is that we are not very good at thinking about the future. This is irrespective of our personal inclination toward optimism or pessimism. Read more

The excitement around the new Labour-NZ First-Green Government and National’s leadership change makes it easy to forget there is a fifth party in Parliament, too. But at last we learnt earlier this week how ACT wants to revive its fortunes. Read more

For cynics, it would be easy to denounce the government’s provincial growth programme as a slush fund. However, I am not cynical about the government’s intentions. Read more

Almost a century ago, the great sociologist Max Weber defined the ideal politician in his lecture Politics as a Vocation. As Bill English just announced his retirement from politics, we may well measure his record by Weberian standards. Read more

The Global Financial Crisis now seems such a distant memory, it is easy to think of it as an historical episode. But this week’s stock market troubles are a timely reminder that the world economy is not in a healthy state. Read more

The north London suburb of Wembley may be the home of English football. But until a few years ago, that was probably its only claim to fame. Read more

Watching the first weeks of the new Parliament, it is difficult not to get confused. On the one hand, we see a government that stumbles its way through the parliamentary machinery. Read more

As the days are becoming longer, the sun is getting stronger and this summer’s first water restrictions are kicking in, Christmas cannot be far away. And since this is the final edition of Insights for the year, I want to thank you, our readers, for coming along this year’s journey with us. Read more