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How ready are we for “shovel-ready” projects?
By Julian Wood
As the numbers of people made redundant as a result of COVID-19 rises there is ever increasing pressure on the…
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Invest in people alongside new infrastructure
By Julian Wood
The euphoria we are all feeling after entering Level 2 will be tempered by the pain of pay cuts and…
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COVID-19 economic analysis – 22.04.2020
By Julian Wood
Analysis of Treasury’s scenario forecasts (released 13 April) and weekly economic commentary (released 17 April), by Senior Researcher Julian Wood…
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Preparing for economic downturn
By Julian Wood
There’s been a lot of recent chat about a possible economic downturn, and many seem to be living under the…
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We can’t afford to sleep on climate risks any longer
By Julian Wood
The story of Rip Van Winkle, first published 200 years ago, resonates deeply with me. I too feel like I…
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Making the Provincial Growth Fund a risk worth taking
By Julian Wood
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) represents a once in a generation opportunity to support a sustainable future for New Zealand’s…
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The collision of research and real life
By Alex Penk
I’ve never been to Maraenui, but I’ve now had a pretty eye-opening introduction to the Napier suburb. The devastation caused…
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Time to take a risk for the regions – Newsroom column
By Alex Penk
To lay out an explanation for the recommendations in our Taking the Right Risks policy paper on regional development, Alex Penk…
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Regional Development Policy Paper | Taking the Right Risks
By Julian Wood
Our previous work on regional development laid out the evidence that large parts of New Zealand are facing a 30 year wave…
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Planning to take the right risks for our regions
By Julian Wood
New Zealand’s Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has a problem. He has three billion dollars and three years to change…
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What can be done? | Smart Decline
By Julian Wood
DISCOVERING DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS BASED ON INTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICE “Ahipara needs a boost. It needs to grow.” Then he [Malley] smiles….
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What can be done? | Smart Growth Three
By Julian Wood
DISCOVERING DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS BASED ON INTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICE “Ahipara needs a boost. It needs to grow.” Then he [Malley] smiles….
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Getting fit to compete in the global game
By Julian Wood
While political and economic “change” is on everyone’s lips, we need to be clear about our current situation, and what…
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Read our column on The Spinoff and RNZ
By Alex Penk
This week, Alex Penk and Julian Wood’s column Triumph or disaster? A guide to the minimum wage increase featured on The…
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Urban/rural split could lead to political polarisation
By Alex Penk
Alex’s latest op-ed features in The Christchurch Press, where he discusses the political and social risks of growing demographic rifts between…
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Tax the robots?
By Julian Wood
We’re now quite used to dire predictions concerning the future of work, job stability, and automation. As far back as…
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MIC 07 | Adapting to the future
By Julian Wood
A number of questions keep popping up in public conversation lately: Will my job exist in 10 years time? Is…
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Rethinking the current goals of regional development
By Julian Wood
The current goals of regional development policy, and especially the RGP (Regional Growth Programme), align well with the modern paradigm…
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Current goals of regional development policy in New Zealand
By Julian Wood
What are the current goals of regional development policy in New Zealand? Identifying the current goals of regional development policy…
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Alex Penk on RNZ National – Regional Development
The day we released our paper Growing Beyond Growth – rethinking the goals of regional development in New Zealand, CEO Alex…
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