Kieran Madden
About Kieran Madden
Research Manager
Kieran joined Maxim Institute as a researcher in 2012 after graduating with a Master of Public Policy from the Crawford School of Economics and Government at the Australian National University.
Prior to this he worked as a researcher for an Australian Senator, following several years as a Project Manager for Hewlett Packard.
Most Recent Activity
Taxes, trust, and transparency
By Kieran Madden
“When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” This, apparently, was economist John Maynard Keynes’…
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The battle lines for our votes
By Kieran Madden
It’s the economy, stupid. This phrase, coined by one of Bill Clinton’s wily campaign strategists, has done a crude but…
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Death to deciles
By Kieran Madden
The Government is about to drive school deciles out of town. Good riddance. What will replace the much-maligned decile system?…
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The future is not (only) digital
By Kieran Madden
“The Fourth Industrial Revolution” is upon us—the exponential rise in technology that is set to disrupt every aspect of our…
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The State must serve
By Kieran Madden
Is the government’s flagship Social Investment approach simply the “incremental privatisation of social services?” When journalist Richard Harman posed this…
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The trust trade-off
By Kieran Madden
The Government is going all in on its Social Investment strategy for fixing social ills, but the big data it…
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Our insecure future of work
By Kieran Madden
Many pinned Trump’s election and the Brexit vote as being fueled by people’s fear of losing their way of life….
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Welfare to work?
By Kieran Madden
Just where do people go when they move off a benefit? It’s a serious question that demands an answer. Why?…
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Lessons from America
By Kieran Madden
While most of us have experienced holding our nose as we vote, our American friends are, as usual, taking it…
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Between risk and reality
By Kieran Madden
We use statistics to inform policy development and public discourse—it is a tool to better society. But like most tools,…
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Ka pai, Oranga Tamariki
By Kieran Madden
Contrary to the sticks and stones rhyme from our childhood, we all know that names can hurt. Names are not…
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Social insecurity
By Kieran Madden
Humans deeply yearn for security. Safety, in both its physical and economic forms, is solidly perched just above physical survival…
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The Heart of Poverty Series #3: Uncovering the pathways in to and out of disadvantage in New Zealand
By Kieran Madden
Around 10 to 15 percent of New Zealand families are stuck in persistent poverty that will keep them trapped there…
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Living Wage disputes
By Kieran Madden
Last week, the Government announced that the minimum wage will soon rise by 50 cents to $15.25/hour, higher than the…
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Social skills to pay the bills
By Kieran Madden
Modern workplaces are like preschool. Our schools and homes should be too. At preschool “children move from art projects to…
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An unrealistic opportunity for equality
By Kieran Madden
If we were looking for a value that everyone could get behind, surely equality of opportunity would be a hot…
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“Skyrocketing” rhetoric no good for struggling families
By Kieran Madden
Strong words were exchanged in Parliament and in the media following the release of MSD’s annual Household Incomes Report and…
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Making work pay in the UK
By Kieran Madden
The freshly-elected UK Conservative Government unveiled their first budget last week. Pointedly reminding those in the House of the sluggish…
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Is education the great equaliser?
By Kieran Madden
Last week, New Zealand got a glowing report card from the OECD for our economic performance and the policies set…
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The President, and the complicated truth
By Kieran Madden
The United States is known for its hyper-partisan, rhetoric-laden public debate. From the Huffington Post to Fox News, the left-right…
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