If there are enormous profits to be made in groceries, why is nobody else trying to steal them away? The world has many supermarket chains. Kiwis can also build new ones. If there are $100 notes on the sidewalk, why is nobody picking them up?
Zoning rules seemed to be the underlying problem. We argued that large-scale entry was de facto impossible.
Our submissions and columns could point to some of the rules in a piecemeal fashion. But we could not put together a comprehensive map. There are literally hundreds of bits of zoning rules that need to be examined across the main centres. Our shop is tiny, and we have no GIS experts on staff.
Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 changed everything.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working with Fable to do the work we could not do during the market studies process. Fable classified roughly 250 zones across nine plans, plus hundreds of precinct documents.
We have comprehensive maps for Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington (and environs), Christchurch and Dunedin. The maps show where large-footprint supermarkets are permitted, where getting permission will be more difficult, and the places where cities have very literally banned competition.
In cities with mapped water infrastructure constraints, we present those as overlays.
I went through several rounds with Fable, catching errors and steering improvements. We put up a test version of the site for urban-economist and urban-planning friends to play with and provide advice. The high-test version of GPT 5.6 provided a hard adversarial review, looking for errors and making suggestions. After a few iterations, we asked the high-test version of Perplexity Compute to provide additional peer review.
The site is now live, as a running experiment. Help us improve it. If you find errors or opportunities for improvement, please let us know via the site’s feedback form. Fable will sweep feedback weekly, provide me with options for updates, and we’ll make the site better.
Currently, the maps show where a 4000-square-metre supermarket could be built. I would like users to be able to select different-sized stores and have the maps update. It is possible when my Fable token quota resets.
Watch for more of these experimental sites to come.
We live in an age of wonders and our regulators are stuck in the dark ages.
Dr Eric Crampton is Chief Economist at the New Zealand Initiative. This article was first published HERE
Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 changed everything.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working with Fable to do the work we could not do during the market studies process. Fable classified roughly 250 zones across nine plans, plus hundreds of precinct documents.
We have comprehensive maps for Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington (and environs), Christchurch and Dunedin. The maps show where large-footprint supermarkets are permitted, where getting permission will be more difficult, and the places where cities have very literally banned competition.
In cities with mapped water infrastructure constraints, we present those as overlays.
I went through several rounds with Fable, catching errors and steering improvements. We put up a test version of the site for urban-economist and urban-planning friends to play with and provide advice. The high-test version of GPT 5.6 provided a hard adversarial review, looking for errors and making suggestions. After a few iterations, we asked the high-test version of Perplexity Compute to provide additional peer review.
The site is now live, as a running experiment. Help us improve it. If you find errors or opportunities for improvement, please let us know via the site’s feedback form. Fable will sweep feedback weekly, provide me with options for updates, and we’ll make the site better.
Currently, the maps show where a 4000-square-metre supermarket could be built. I would like users to be able to select different-sized stores and have the maps update. It is possible when my Fable token quota resets.
Watch for more of these experimental sites to come.
We live in an age of wonders and our regulators are stuck in the dark ages.
Dr Eric Crampton is Chief Economist at the New Zealand Initiative. This article was first published HERE
4 comments:
“It is possible when my Fable token quota resets”
Hilarious you’re dependent on Big Tech to show your work, fella. Why don’t you just pay the money? You told us that user pays is the way….and now you suggest it’s “user waits”!? This is not the AI uptopia you promised us.
AI tokens can be limited by the developers. It isn’t an infinite resource. The electricity and hardware costs money and fair use applies.
You're absolutely right - if billions in profits are being made why doesn't anyone see any advantage in setting up shop....its because our own stupid government and councils and burecrats tell them they're not allowed to....no one leaves windfalls just lying around.
Trying to set up my own business within an industrial zone in Kapiti....its a commercial business, not an industrial one - and the number of expensive hoops we have to jump through to even apply to set up this business are proving to be such an expensive box ticking nightmare (with no guarantee of a favourable outcome that will allow the business to operate) that we're seriously questioning if we go ahead and sign the lease!
Seriously - how any business gets off the ground in this country, with all the stupid nonsensical laws, regulations, zones and boxes to tick - is beyond me - let alone a supermarket!
When Janet Holborow - the Mayor of Kapiti says "we won't allow competition" to just come in - when speaking to a business group....she's saying no to a pharmacy opening up at Paraparaumu beach because there is one 5kms away at Coastlands, she's saying no to another green grocer opening up anywhere in kapiti because it will interfere with the sole green grocer and supermarket near monopolies, she's saying no to bakeries, cafes, book shops, beauticians, hairdressers, gift shops, toy stores, clothing stores, sporting goods stores - because one of these already exists. What she doesn't realise is that more of these businesses creates competition....and competition lowers the cost of living for residents - while improving amenity, variety, and living standards.
Imagine if 2 supermarkets were close to each other - and had to genuinely compete with each other, as well as compete with a grocer, butcher, and bakery! Thats when residents and consumers and businesses really win.
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