Dr Oliver Hartwich: New Zealand by Comparison

Two weeks ago, New Zealand by Numbers asked whether New Zealand was improving. Our latest report asks a harder question: is it keeping up?

New Zealand by Comparison, edited by Dr Oliver Hartwich and Dr Bryce Wilkinson, measures New Zealand against 28 other countries across more than a hundred indicators, from work and prosperity to health, institutions and the environment.

Among this group, New Zealand ranks first for labour force participation, second for economic freedom, fourth for honesty in government and eighth for life satisfaction, ahead of Germany, Britain and the United States.

Vance Ginn: The Poverty of the UN’s Degrowth Agenda

The latest attack on economic growth comes wrapped in moral language. Its advocates promise less poverty, greater equality, and a safer climate. Their policies would deliver less production, less investment, and fewer opportunities. That is managed decline, not prosperity.

The UN-backed Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth proposes 80 policies meant to reduce society’s dependence on growth. A separate Global Justice Report, led by Thomas Piketty and researchers at the World Inequality Lab, puts numbers behind this vision.