Oliver is the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative. Before joining the Initiative, he was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, the Chief Economist at the Policy Exchange in London, and an advisor in the UK House of Lords.
Oliver holds a master's degree in economics and business administration and a PhD in Law from Bochum University in Germany.
Oliver is available to comment on all of the Initiative’s research areas.
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
When I last wrote about Cyprus, the eurozone faced a political and economic dilemma in its smallest member state (The spectre protecting a sinful little Cyprus, January 24). With last weekend’s bailout, Europe’s politicians have once again managed to make a bad situation worse. Read more
If you filled in your census forms last week, you would have had to answer question number 13: "In which language(s) could you have a conversation about a lot of everyday things?" The wording of the question is clumsy. I wonder how our statisticians define ‘a lot of’, what they mean by ‘everyday’, and whether ‘things’ could have been more specific. Read more
While it was still busy sorting out the mess that is the European economy, the European Commission last week could at least score a small victory: it issued a €561 million fine to Microsoft for breaching undertakings given in the software giant’s long-running antitrust dispute with the EU. The new fine brings Microsoft’s total contribution to the EU budget over the years to a total of €2.2 billion. Read more
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Back in December last year, there was a growing sentiment that the worst of the European crisis could be behind us. I did not believe these claims then, and few would believe them now. Read more
Lasciate ogni speranza voi ch’entrate (“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here”) is written above the gates of hell in Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. Following last weekend’s elections, this gloomy admonishment might fit Italy as well. Read more
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Prime Minister John Key wants to change a constitutional settlement that has lasted 173 years. He proposes to extend parliamentary terms to four years, with a fixed election date at the end. Read more
Talk about the looming global currency war obscures an unpleasant reality: monetary policy remains the West’s only weapon to prevent imminent insolvency. Unfortunately, the medicine may kill the patient, rather than the disease. Read more
As the New Zealand dollar reached an all-time high against the British pound and keeps rising against the US dollar, the euro and other major currencies, New Zealand manufacturers are renewing their complaints about the damaging effects of our strong currency. However, currency movements usually produce losers and winners. Read more
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For decades, following German real estate prices was like watching paint dry. Well, actually it was even less exciting than that. Read more
Here’s a radical idea: Let’s think of houses as places where people live. Housing affordability is the big political issue of 2013. Read more
Broken windows and Warrant of Fitness (WoF) checks have more in common than first meets the eye. And no, we’re not talking about cracked windscreens. Read more
Even political leaders used to hopping from conference to conference do not often fly halfway around the world and back for a weekend meeting. It’s even more remarkable when most of Europe’s political leaders go on such a journey together – but it happened last weekend. Read more