Eric Crampton • Mar 11, 2015 •
Gareth Morgan argues that New Zealand needs to do a better job in extracting all the surplus from tourists.He first argues that foreigners buying property here would pay a fairer tax share under comprehensive capital income taxation on the value of their purchased property.A lot here would hinge on relative elasticities.Suppose that foreign demand for NZ property is completely … Read More
Eric Crampton • Oct 10, 2014 •
Fun week.I posted over at Interest.co.nz about how reducing regulatory barriers to densification and to expansion in the suburbs could reduce housing costs and consequently improve child poverty outcomes, at least some of which are due to high housing costs.Gareth Morgan posts over at Gareth's World about how I'm kinda evil for being so pro-sprawl and wanting sprawl … Read More
Gareth Renowden • Sep 26, 2014 •
New Zealand’s general election is over. The National Party has won itself another three years in government. With a probable overall majority and the support of three fringe MPs, prime minister John Key and his cabinet will be able to do more or less what they like. Given the government’s performance on climate matters over […] … Read More
Eric Crampton • Feb 28, 2014 •
I read the behavioural literature as a meta form of self-help. Here are some standard ways that people can screw things up; here are some heuristics they use that work on average but can yield failures when applied to the wrong domain; here are some strategies for applying the right heuristic at the right time and for avoiding applying … Read More
Seamus Hogan • May 16, 2013 •
Imagine a country where shoes cannot be imported and furthermore the elasticity of supply of shoes is very low. Imagine that the government in this country subsidises shoes. The person on the street who doesn't understand tax incidence might think that... Read More
Bill Kaye-Blake • Mar 19, 2013 •
Andrew Dickson (othersideofweightloss) was emailing me about fat taxes and I realised I didn’t have a well thought-out opinion on them. Let me start by asking, what are we trying to accomplish? User pays — This is the point of the tax on fat people that Gareth Morgan Investments suggested in 2005: Government could publish a range [...] … Read More
Grant Jacobs • Jan 31, 2013 •
I challenge Gareth to do some science. Gareth Morgan wants to help New Zealand wildlife by restricting cat numbers. Last night on Campbell Live, Gareth Morgan was brought back on the show for a second run to make an announcement. As I understood it he is offering to pay the SPCA $5 for every cat that … Read More
Eric Crampton • Jan 25, 2013 •
I'm not sure that you can make a case for the phased abolition of cats from New Zealand within a utilitarian framework, even one counting animals' utility directly, without arguing that you also have to abolish any carnivore elsewhere in the world whos... Read More
- Wayne Linklater • Jan 22, 2013 •
Gareth Morgan’s call for the gradual reduction in cat numbers and ownership, especially from parts of New Zealand near places where our nation’s biodiversity live is a welcome ‘public face’ to a long-running discussion amongst ecological scientists and conservationists. Commentators and media, unfortunately, have made a hash of Dr. Morgan’s suggestion – reinterpretation towards misrepresentation. Read More
Eric Crampton • Jan 08, 2013 •
Gareth Morgan wanted restrictions on where "fake food" outlets might be located.Placement of junk food outlets – local communities have a say over the placement of alcohol outlets, but we can’t stop junk food outlets setting up around our schools or clustering in poor neighbourhoods. This could be changed if planners had to take health into consideration in their decisions. Read More