So says David Grimmond in his discussion of school zoning! (Infometrics link here) I am not a fan of school zoning. Its main outcome is to reduce school choices for poorer families. Although the intentions underpinning the policy are probably noble, it has unintended consequences which on the whole harm the prospects of children from […]
This week Mieke Welvaert discussed (Infometrics link) the broken window fallacy. GDP measures the value produced within a geographic entity. Even though it seems damaging property could increase GDP, this is unlikely – and when it does, it does not do so in a way that increases wellbeing. In truth, it would be better if we […]
Last week Matt Nolan discussed the idea that being too target focused can be dangerous (Infometrics link here): Instead of targeting an arbitrary set of outputs that treat New Zealand like a machine, policy should be based on the inherent trade-offs that exist for the policy question we are asking. Focused research on the costs […]
This week (Infometrics link here), Matt Nolan discuss daylight savings, specifically discussing the way an economist would probably look at it – as a type of ‘co-ordination game’ where a government can help individuals co-ordinate actions. When it comes to causing the environment less harm the Carbon Click can help in many ways as they […]
Benje Patterson has decided to have a look at domestic air travel – with reference to the entry of Jetstar in June 2009 (Infometrics link here). Their entry, and the associated increase in competition in regional air routes, can be expected to have spillover benefits to the regional economies that are exposed to this:
Matt Nolan discussed the benefits of trade for a small open economy on Rates Blog (Infometrics copy here), and some of the specific factors for New Zealand. Namely, the fact that New Zealand’s comparative advantage is in a homogenous product, where New Zealand as a whole only provides a tiny amount of the world’s supply. […]