|
WHAT'S NEW |
21 November 2008, Richard S. Lindzen
When an issue becomes a vital part of a political agenda, as is the case with climate, then the politically desired position becomes a goal rather than a consequence of scientific research... we will show how political bodies act to control scientific institutions, how scientists adjust both data and even theory to accommodate politically correct positions, and how opposition to these positions is disposed of. ...more.
|
|
20 November 2008, Rob McLeod
We said from the outset that the policies put in place by the last government to achieve its laudable goal of raising New Zealand’s relative living standards and place in the OECD rankings could not succeed, and that they would move New Zealand further away from that goal. It gives us no satisfaction to have been proved right. ...more.
|
|
20 November 2008, John Luxton
It is interesting in a public policy sense to review the various roles that have been given to the Maori portfolio of government over the last 160 years. Maori Affairs is one of the oldest of all government portfolios. Over time, the changing role of the portfolio has reflected the government approach to Maori issues. This paper looks at what role such a ministry might play in future. ...more.
|
|
20 November 2008, New Zealand Business Roundtable
The New Zealand Business Roundtable today released the fourth working paper in a series that explores Maori development and ways of building on past achievements. ...more.
|
|
19 November 2008, L. Gordon Crovitz
For their part, regulators spooked markets by trying to make short sellers the scapegoats for problems they didn't cause. The biggest impact of the temporary ban on short selling, which expired earlier this month, was its role in undermining the trust on which markets rely. Why would regulators ban short selling in nearly 1,000 companies, effectively banning accurate information from the markets? ...more.
|
|
19 November 2008, New Zealand Business Roundtable
The Business Roundtable has welcomed National Party leader John Key’s indication that the new government will be willing to consider the merits of a carbon tax vis-à-vis an emissions trading scheme (ETS) as a response to climate change. ...more.
|
|
14 November 2008, Richard Rahn
When good scholars and other smart people come together from many countries and professions to present evidence and discuss issues without a narrow political agenda or government sponsorship, it is surprising how often sensible and cost-effective solutions can be found that enhance rather than diminish human liberty. ...more.
|
|
12 November 2008, Steven Yamarik
A good deal of the direct cost of education is subsidised by governments – supposedly because education generates external returns for society. This column argues that there is little evidence of such returns. If there are reasons to subsidise education, they don't include economic externalities. ...more.
|
|
11 November 2008, Roger Kerr
The Business Roundtable has had a longstanding interest in environmental issues. We have been involved in debates over the Resource Management Act (RMA) and climate change from the outset. With the change of government it is pleasing that policies in both these areas are up for review. The election result suggests that voters at large are unhappy with them. ...more.
|
|
9 November 2008, New Zealand Business Roundtable
Business Roundtable chairman Rob McLeod has congratulated National Party leader John Key for his conclusive victory in the general election. ...more.
|
|
7 November 2008, Johan Norberg
No matter what pundits say, we are nowhere near a laissez-faire situation. Look no further than the US federal institutions in Washington, DC, and we find 12,113 individuals working full time to regulate the financial markets. What did they do with the powers they had?
Made mistakes. American politicians, central banks and regulators were just as eager as speculators to expand the housing bubble. They just had a bigger pump. ...more.
|
|
7 November 2008, Roger Kerr
The findings of the latest study are of no small moment. Just keeping hospital productivity at its previous level would have allowed District Health Boards to carry out work equivalent to an extra 30,000 hip replacements (which might have cleared the whole waiting list). Alternatively, they could have cared for as many additional patients as the Waitemata DHB cared for in 2005/06. ...more.
|
|
5 November 2008, Alan Moran
Kevin Rudd's easy rhetoric about the need to rein in “executive greed” has given legitimacy to the demands of everyone who has ever wanted the government to legislate to control food prices, fuel costs and bosses' salaries. Of course government can easily regulate all of these things, but the results would be disastrous. ...more.
|
|
31 October 2008, John Roskam
Kevin Rudd's easy rhetoric about the need to rein in ‘‘executive greed'' has given legitimacy to the demands of everyone who has ever wanted the government to legislate to control food prices, fuel costs and bosses' salaries. Of course government can easily regulate all of these things, but the results would be disastrous. ...more.
|
|
31 October 2008, New Zealand Business Roundtable
The New Zealand Business Roundtable has compiled the attached file of key statistics for economic journalists and others interested in the New Zealand economy. ...more.
|
|
31 October 2008, New Zealand Business Roundtable
The first part of the file comprises New Zealand statistics produced mainly by New Zealand statistical authorities. The second part contains some international comparisons of New Zealand trends and rankings vis á vis other countries. ...more.
|
|
30 October 2008, Paul Johnson
That's the Greens' stock response to anything weather-related. Too much sun? "Global warming." Too little sun? "Global warming." Drought? "Global warming." Floods? "Global warming." Freezing cold? "Global warming." ...more.
|
|
30 October 2008, New Zealand Business Roundtable
“The Minister of Health’s responses thus far to the report by Mani Maniparathy released by the New Zealand Business Roundtable (www.nzbr.org.nz) yesterday on productivity in public hospitals are a distraction from the public interest questions that it raises”, according to former Health Funding Authority chairman Dr Graham Scott. “I wonder if he understands the data and the analysis, what it claims and what it does not.” ...more.
|
|
29 October 2008, New Zealand Business Roundtable
A new study on the performance of New Zealand’s public hospitals produced for the New Zealand Business Roundtable reveals a substantial decline in productivity.
Despite large additional expenditure on health in recent years, it appears that
taxpayers have not received commensurate value for money”, Roger Kerr, executive director of the Business Roundtable, said today. ...more.
|
|
29 October 2008, Mani Maniparathy
The indicators of productivity in New Zealand's health sector are reason for concern, as is the paucity of transparent and reliable information with which to evaluate the effectiveness of policies and management. In spite of continuing substantial - and possibly unsustainable – increases in funding each year, the system struggles to meet some of its obligations, for example to provide treatment to all those who qualify under the points system. ...more.
|
|
24 October 2008, Dominick T. Armentano
The long 150-year history of oil prices is that short-run increases in price are (almost) ALWAYS followed by just as dramatic reductions in price. This scenario has played out in the late 19th century, during and after World War 1, World War 2, and most dramatically after the price hikes of late 1970’s and early 1990’s. Oil prices first increase sharply, then the tumble. ...more.
|
|
24 October 2008, Roger Kerr
One reason among others for doing so was the risk of political interference. It was naïve of finance minister Michael Cullen to think this would not happen. Similar funds elsewhere have routinely been raided for political purposes. The Rudd government in Australia already plans to tamper with the Future Fund established by the Howard government to underwrite public servants’ superannuation. ...more.
|
|
22 October 2008, John Stossel
A companion piece to Perspectives No 217. John Stossel explains ‘rinkonomics’ and asks the question: just how much power do those in power have? Running time 8:18. ...more.
|
|
22 October 2008, John Stossel
"It's like we believe that when one man is chosen to be president, suddenly he rises above all the rest of us." says the Cato Institute's David Boaz. "Suddenly politicians can do anything: give us health care, better lives, better jobs. But politicians can't do most of that stuff." ...more.
|
|
Media
releases
