John Walley blog

RBNZ needs a new strategy with its new Governor

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:36:39 GMT

Dr Alan Bollard has decided to resign from his role as Reserve Bank Governor in September leaving the Board of the bank to choose a replacement. Bollard has had a number of critics during his time...

Accountability needed on poor economic performance

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:01:58 GMT

Over the past couple of years our apparent resilience to the financial crisis and optimistic forecasts of economic growth have been used to justify the Government’s status quo approach. Record high...

Escaping the debt trap

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 20:55:12 GMT

Numbers were a big issue leading up to the election. There was debate on the level of spending, net debt vs. gross debt and the time it will take a particular policy framework to deliver a surplus...

New Government needs to walk the talk on rebalancing

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:09:08 GMT

Policies to help the traded sector were one of the themes of the election campaign with a contrast in approach between the two major parties clearly evident. National argued that more of the same...

Debt write off - Steve Keen

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 22:11:23 GMT

This is worth a watch: in a world sinking in debt it is time to fix the systemic problem. Steve Keen has some different ideas: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/9641873.stm

What happens when the (tea) party is over?

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 01:24:57 GMT

It is exasperating to watch gossip about what may or may not have been said distract from serious matters in an election process. Why is it that gossip and speculation warrants more media attention...

Election starts to bring policy change – more needed

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 23:18:10 GMT

The political race has come to the fore after the end of the rugby world cup. There has been some interesting policy released. Coming on top of earlier releases on fiscal and monetary policy...

ChangeNZ

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 23:41:17 GMT

The voice of the real economy needs to be stronger in New Zealand, every year, but particularly in an election year. The NZMEA has launched a website, Changenz.co.nz...

Current account problem grows again

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 21:24:14 GMT

Credit rating downgrades from Fitch and Standard and Poor’s have once again highlighted New Zealand’s problem with balancing its current account with the world. Low local savings and an appetite...

What impact will the European crisis have?

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 22:09:14 GMT

The potential for European countries and their banks to default on debt raises the question of what impact these defaults would have on the global economy. • What impact will the European crisis...

Election year must deliver policy change, not handouts

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 05:26:28 GMT

This years’ election can deliver a change in our economic framework and address an already significant debt problem. Elections over the past couple of decades have tended to be contests of who can...

Global problems further discredit our policy framework

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 05:02:49 GMT

Further instability overseas is making the debt path proposed in the Budget look increasingly optimistic. After the Budget we were left with the feeling that the Government had underestimated the...

Fresh Ideas for a Productive Economy: Issues and Opportunities

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 01:32:15 GMT

Here is the text of a presentation I did for 'Fresh Ideas for a Productive Economy', a seminar organised by the Fabian Society and held in Parliament. The presentation slides are available here...

Tax on capital gains long overdue

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:05:28 GMT

Labour’s tax plan announced last week represents an effort to rebalance the economy towards productive enterprise and away from unproductive assets. With the tax system as it is now investment in...

Conference must deliver something…

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:40:01 GMT

A Conference on ‘New Zealand's Macroeconomic Imbalances’ was held by the Treasury, the Reserve Bank and Victoria University last month. The Conference was designed to build on a similar forum in...

What will it take for a monetary policy shake up?

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 22:38:26 GMT

The New Zealand dollar has reached a post float high against the US dollar and has tracked up against almost all major currencies over the past few weeks. This has reinforced the need for...

Misunderstanding R&D Incentives

Wed, 25 May 2011 06:19:33 GMT

A recent editorial in the Herald demonstrates a narrow and misinformed view of what research and development really means. See: http...

Statistics - maybe lies maybe not.

Tue, 24 May 2011 04:59:35 GMT

A good many official statistics that are well worth a look. Start with 4.1.10, 4.1.11 & 4.1.13 wonder what they know we don't. A look at 5.4.7 shows why export investment in differentiated...

Budget forecasts aggressive growth but still no policy to get there

Mon, 23 May 2011 05:17:02 GMT

The 2011 Budget was one of a surprising lack of urgency and a demonstration that Government really does not understand, or is choosing to ignore, the magnitude of what faces us. There was little to...

Slip Sliding Away

Fri, 20 May 2011 00:44:50 GMT

Increasing foreign ownership and offshore debt sets up a flow of interest and profits out of NZ. Given that: we either earn more with what is left or spend less, otherwise foreign ownership will...