Eric Crampton

Dr. Eric Crampton is chief economist at the New Zealand Initiative in Wellington. From 2003 through 2014, he served as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer with the Department of Economics at the University of Canterbury. He blogs at Offsetting Behaviour.

Business
May 14, 2020

A crisis budget. A debt budget. And a budget on which our recovery depends

What the does the government need to fund to get the economy moving again?

Read on.

Society
Mar 12, 2020

How well is a school really performing? We built a lab to find out

We wanted to find out how schools were doing, irrespective of the privilege of their students.

Read on.

Politics
Aug 22, 2019

The parliamentary budget office should be just the beginning

The government’s plan to avoid another ‘fiscal hole’ fiasco has an unlikely fan: the chief economist of the corporate think tank New Zealand Initiative

Read on.

Politics
Jun 7, 2019

The rot at treasury started years ago

Treasury has been haemorrhaging talented economists for years and the budget leaks were just the tip of the iceberg for a department in crisis, writes Eric Crampton of The New Zealand Initiative.

Read on.

Politics
Apr 18, 2019

How an OIA laid bare the pork barrel shambles that is Shane Jones’ provincial growth fund

Economist Eric Crampton on the primary school maths and abuse of the official information act underpinning Shane Jones' provincial growth fund. 

Read on.

Society
Jun 30, 2018

How to solve housing affordability in New Zealand? Look to the United States

If New Zealand is to crack the problems of unaffordable housing, the government must look seriously at how the better parts of America finance infrastructure, argues Eric Crampton.

Read on.

Politics
Apr 18, 2018

Why the ban on foreign homebuyers is so very dumb

On Tuesday, economist Eric Crampton argued prohibiting foreign buyers will do nothing to alleviate the housing crisis. Today, he lays out all the other reasons why the ban makes no sense.

Read on.

Politics
Apr 17, 2018

The foreign buyer ban is an abomination. Bad in principle, worse in practice

The prohibition on foreign property buyers is the worst kind of populist, fear-based policy-making, argues economist Eric Crampton.

Read on.

Politics
Mar 27, 2018

Give us our red socks, and $212m public money, for the 2021 Economist’s Cup

Eric Crampton lays out a compelling argument for an international economists' regatta that will pump cash into the NZ economy.

Read on.

Politics
Dec 15, 2017

Why throwing another pile of $$$$ at old people is sheer idiocy

The government yesterday introduced a new winter energy payment for everyone over 65. If they're serious about alleviating hardship, this is the very last group they should be splashing cash on

Read on.

Society
Sep 2, 2017

Outside the Asylum: the final installment of an epic essay in praise of New Zealand

We conclude an epic essay from the New Zealand Initiative’s Eric Crampton, exploring what life is like in and out of New Zealand.

Read on.

Society
Aug 30, 2017

Outside the Asylum: chapter six of an epic essay in praise of New Zealand

We continue serialising an epic essay from the New Zealand Initiative’s Eric Crampton, exploring what life is like in and out of New Zealand. Today: chapter five, on drinking.

Read on.

Society
Aug 26, 2017

Outside the Asylum: chapter five of an epic essay in praise of New Zealand

We continue serialising an epic essay from the New Zealand Initiative’s Eric Crampton, exploring what life is like in and out of New Zealand. Today: chapter five, on policing. 

Read on.

Society
Aug 23, 2017

Outside the Asylum: chapters three and four of an epic essay in praise of New Zealand

We continue serialising an epic essay from the New Zealand Initiative’s Eric Crampton, exploring what life is like in and out of New Zealand. Today: chapters three and four, covering tax and airport security.

Read on.

Society
Aug 19, 2017

Outside the Asylum: chapters one and two of Eric Crampton’s epic essay situating New Zealand as an oasis in a weird world

Living in New Zealand and focusing on our very real social issues, it's easy to forget that there are many things we do quite well. Over the next couple of weeks we serialise an epic essay from the New Zealand Initiative's Eric Crampton, exploring what life is like in and out of New Zealand.

Read on.

Politics
May 25, 2017

Why the budget must include a tax cut – and fiscal discipline to go with it

Budget 2017: We invited Eric Crampton to make the argument for a tax cut. Here he offers the case for a modest cut to reflect inflation, the case for a more substantial cut, and, for good measure, a dumb case

Read on.

Society
Jan 27, 2017

Peter Thiel is a world-leading tech investor and a fascinating thinker. Of course NZ was right to make him a citizen

Some say the American billionaire isn’t welcome because of his backing for Trump – but that happened four years after he was granted citizenship. And should political support really be a litmus? Eric Crampton writes in defence of Citizen Thiel.

Read on.

Politics
Nov 10, 2016

Buckle up for President Trump. It only gets crazier from here

Earlier this year I wrote that a Donald Trump presidency wouldn't be that bad. Today I'm a whole lot less cheerful, writes Eric Crampton.

Read on.

Auckland
Sep 8, 2016

Vancouver’s foreign-buyer tax: the solution for an overheated Auckland market?

Did the Canadian experiment work? It is far too early to tell, and anybody claiming otherwise may be trying to sell you something, writes Eric Crampton

Read on.

Politics
Aug 18, 2016

Labour’s loan write-off: a solution in search of a problem

There is good reason for reforming the student loan system, but the proposal to wipe debt for those who work in the regions doesn't hold water, argues Eric Crampton.

Read on.

Society
Jun 28, 2016

How to fix a crisis: An Auckland housing manifesto

Yes, it is a crisis: a profound and persistent crisis, bedevilled by distractions. Economist Eric Crampton takes a deep breath and works his way through the factors

Read on.

Politics
Mar 31, 2016

I love the idea of a Universal Basic Income. But here’s the problem

In principle, a UBI, as floated by the NZ Labour Party, sounds great. It’s once you start looking harder at implementation that things quickly become, well, messy, writes Eric Crampton.

Read on.

Politics
Mar 1, 2016

How I learned to stop worrying and love Donald Trump

Eight reasons why a Trump presidency may not be as bad as you imagine.

Read on.

Television
Feb 3, 2015

Bad Week: Why Walter White Tells Us as Much About Economics as Chemistry

The New Zealand Initiative's Head of Research Eric Crampton breaks down the depressing drug market economics which drive Walter White to murder and mayhem. // The most successful anti-methamphetamine campaign ever …

Read on.

The Spinoff is made possible by the generous support of the following organisations.
Please help us by supporting them.