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
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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The making of resilient families
By Keiran Madden
While most of the stories behind families in poverty are tinged with despair, many are gilded with hope. Because poverty…
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What makes you poor?
By Kieran Madden
What does poverty look like in New Zealand? Who is poor? How did they get there? What’s keeping them there?…
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Family at the heart of social policy
By Kieran Madden
It takes a family to raise a child. While the short-hand term “child poverty” is much easier to express than…
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The awkward reality about marriage and inequality
By Keiran Madden
For richer, for poorer: an important vow, but not as risky as it might sound. Richer is much more likely. …
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What we learnt at the Maxim Institute poverty roundtable discussions
By Kieran Madden
On his way back to the Beehive, Prime Minister John Key took the opportunity to signal that child poverty is…
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Talk is cheap
By Kieran Madden
Talk is cheap. This is particularly true at election time, where there is certainly no shortage of talk. There is…
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Prudence and grit
By Kieran Madden
What separates righteous anger from rioting mobs? What triggers the turn from peaceful protest against injustice, to looting and violence,…
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Minimum wage, minimal help
By Kieran Madden
With four in ten poor kids living in families where mum or dad is in work, raising the minimum wage…
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