05 July 12
The aftershocks of the financial crisis are still being felt around the world. Some say it was greed that got us into trouble, others a lack of regulation. But what would the man credited with inventing the modern market say? Economist Nathan McLellan examines the foundations of virtue upon which Smith based his economic theory and explores how this could breathe new life into our markets.
+ more
28 May 12
Ever wondered where your taxes go? We’ve put together Maxim institute's Income Tax Tracker to help you find out.
Each year the Government taxes New Zealanders’ incomes. It spends those taxes on services and programmes that are intended to help New Zealand, like schools, police and benefits. We think it’s important for all New Zealanders to get an idea of what the Government spends their money on, and how much it spends where. That’s where the MITT comes in.
+ more
12 March 12
There is a problem with KiwiSaver—it does not seem to be achieving what it was supposed to. Auckland University lecturer Michael Littlewood has recently argued that the increase in KiwiSaver funds last year was mostly due to account swapping and government spending, rather than new savings.+ more
12 May 11
Untying a thoroughly tangled hose is never an easy task. You usually have to bend and twist the hose a lot so that you can un-tie the knots and straighten it up. New Zealand's economy is currently a lot like that tangled hose.+ more
07 September 10
Have you ever had that nagging feeling where you've regretted not doing something important because it seemed too hard at the time? New Zealand is at risk of having such regret if we do not make changes to our economy that will enable us to grow our living standards.+ more