This note was prepared for some colleagues. Keywords: Distributional Economics; Growth & Innovation; Th phrase ‘hollowing out’ is often used to cover a multitude of poorly thought through ideas which have lots of rhetoric but perhaps not much intellectual content. Here I am going to try to give the notion some analytical rigour…
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Rising food prices look set to continue. Listener: 17 November, 2007. Keywords: Globalisation & Trade; The boom in dairy product prices is a consequence partly of overseas drought and partly of Americans using their maize to make biofuels, leaving less for their cows. The same condition is depressing the price of…
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This was a draft an affidavit I prepared for the Environment Court. in November 2007. It was rules out as not relevant to the proceedings. It is included here because it shows an ingenious method for valuing physical resources in some instances. Keywords: Environment & Resources; Maori; Introduction My name is Brian…
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The Weekend Herald of November 10, 2007 devoted three pages, to a Newsweek article which was strong on anecdote and opinion and weak on analysis and facts. I submitted the following note. They took a fortnight to tell me they had more important things to deal with. Keywords: Distributional Economics; Globalisation & Trade; …
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The fine art of spotting creative accounting Listener: 3 November, 2007. Keywords: Business & Finance; Ian Cross, a former editor of the Listener, says I was one of only two commentators who warned in early 1987 that shares were overpriced. But even if I predicted the 1987 sharemarket crash – albeit not…
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