Infometrics

The disabled aren’t worth less than the old – so why does policy act like they are?

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This article was originally published on the Infometrics website here.

One of the true tests of a society is measured by how it treats its most vulnerable members, particularly the old, the young, the sick, and the disabled. There is a lot of good with New Zealand and New Zealand policy. However, on assisting those unable to provide for themselves, our provisions for people unable to work due to a health condition is an area where we are increasingly failing. 

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Giulia Bellocchio

A New GDP measure (GDP-B) in a digital economy

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Although GDP is a good measure of what it is supposed to measure, there are always questions about whether it is the right measure when asking a given policy question. This was the driving motivation behind the Living Standard’s Framework and the development of a suite of measures to inform our views on wellbeing, as I’ve previously written (with Anita King and Nairn MacGibbon).

The focus of this post is on digitization. In an era of digitization, economists have become more and more concerned about whether the conventional way of calculating GDP is appropriate for asking questions about changes in consumer welfare (surplus) through time.

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Giulia Bellocchio

Investment, uncertainty, and monetary policy: Part II

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As per my earlier post, this follow up aims to understand how uncertainty influences monetary policy. Although we will use the lens of investment, these arguments hold for planned expenditure in the economy more generally.

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Giulia Bellocchio

How does uncertainty affect economy? What about monetary policy?

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Why uncertainty matters?

The OECD has been warning everyone (Economic outlook 2019) , that the trade policy tension and uncertainty around it hit global economy hard. My question is, how can we think about uncertainty and its influence on monetary policy?

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Giulia Bellocchio

Is the gym ripping me off: An Economic perspective

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Last week I re-joined gym with Les Mills, as my previous fitness club (Revive) got shut down. The amenities provided and the corresponding higher price charged by Les Mills made two things come to mind:

  • Why are the prices different between these gyms?
  • Are they “extracting surplus” from me – in other words overcharging me?

To think about this, I want to talk about competition – specifically an idea called monopolistic competition.

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Giulia Bellocchio

2019 NZIER Economics Award

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NZIER had their annual NZIER Economics Award earlier in the week – or as we often call it NZ Economist of the Year.  The winner for 2019 was John McDermott, current Executive Director and Motu and former Chief Economist of the RBNZ.

John was an excellent choice for this award. He has contributed significantly to NZ and international literature, while influencing policy making in NZ – especially through the high pressure times of the Global Financial Crisis. Furthermore, while doing all this he has taken time to do some economics teaching in Wellington, helping to inspire future generations of students.

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