Monthly Archives: July 2008

Does Material Affluence Boost Wellbeing?

Revised version of the paper to 7X7 seminar, Wellington, 22 July, 2008   Keywords: History of Ideas, Methodology & Philosophy;   What is the purpose of it all? For 200 years economists have assumed that the more material goods the better, and the purpose of the economy was to supply those goods. The notion that…
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Modest Achiever

Bill Phillips is Up There with the Greats. Listener: 12 July,2008 Keywords: History of Ideas, Methodology & Philosophy; Macroeconomics & Money; Economists from all over the world are meeting in Wellington over the next couple of weeks to celebrate New Zealander Bill Phillips and the paper he published 50 years ago. This paper introduced what…
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From Ordinary Beginnings to Extraordinary Achievements

The text of the display celebrating Bill Phillips, opened in the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Museum on 7 July, 2008. The text is written around various images, but may be of some value without them. I should like to acknowledge the Phillips Family, the New Zealand Portrait Gallery, the Reserve Bank Knowledge Centre, 3D…
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Politics, Policy and Modernisation

Presentation to a Union Gathering: July 2, 2008    Keywords: Globalisation & Trade; Growth & Innovation; Political Economy & History;  Central to policy is that there are always new forces which are requiring to adapt policies to new circumstances – what may be called ‘ongoing modernisation’. There are three major sources of these forces.  …
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