Housing affordability and productivity must be tackled to keep NZ moving forward
In 1973, 843 people died on New Zealand roads. Last year, with far more people driving far more cars, the provisional toll was 272. Read more
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In 1973, 843 people died on New Zealand roads. Last year, with far more people driving far more cars, the provisional toll was 272. Read more
Is New Zealand a country in decline or a quiet success story? A new report from The New Zealand Initiative argues it is neither. Read more
Wellington (Wednesday, 8 July 2026) – Is New Zealand a country in decline or a quiet success story? A new report from The New Zealand Initiative argues it is neither. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich talked to Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB about the New Zealand Initiative's new report tracking the country's progress across more than 100 measures. Dr Hartwich explained that gains like fewer road deaths and longer life expectancy have happened almost automatically through better technology and medicine, while the areas that need bold reform, such as housing affordability and productivity, keep lagging, with Erica Stanford's education changes a rare exception. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton talked to Wallace Chapman on RNZ's The Panel, with panellists Anna Dean and Conor English, about Labour's and National's rooftop solar policies. Dr Crampton said both parties are addressing a real financing barrier for households without mortgages, welcomed National's move to make rooftop solar permitted as of right given that regulatory costs have kept New Zealand's solar sector far smaller than Australia's, but cautioned that fiddly bits such as council liens taking priority over mortgages and safety rules for plug-in solar kits need to be got right. Read more
Every July, members of the New Zealand Association of Economists – academics, practitioners, and officials – meet to tell each other what they’ve been working on. Work presented tends to be work-in-progress. Read more
Choice, competition and open markets provide strong consumer protection. The risk that a customer might shift to a competitor, or to another type of product entirely, provides discipline. Read more
National promises that, if re-elected, it will make KiwiSaver compulsory. The case for compulsion is weaker than most assume. Read more
If re-elected, National would make KiwiSaver contributions compulsory from 2028, with employers and employees each contributing 6 percent by 2032. That compulsion requires guardrails, according to a Research Note published today by The New Zealand Initiative Chief Economist Dr Eric Crampton. Read more
Wellington (Thursday, 25 June 2026) – If re-elected, National would make KiwiSaver contributions compulsory from 2028, with employers and employees each contributing 6 percent by 2032. That compulsion requires guardrails, according to a research note published today by The New Zealand Initiative's Chief Economist Dr Eric Crampton. Read more