James Hogan's Personal Blog
Every Economist marvels at Singapore’s economic and political economy. They’ve just entered into a Free Trade Agreement with Kazakhstan and their Senior Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, delivered a lecture to the Nazarabayev University of Kazakhstan outline Singapore’s economic development history and economic strategy.It’s worth reading.You can see echoes of their…
This posting is motivated a little bit by this RNZ article but also interpreting these Statistics New Zealand Business Price statistics.The RNZ article noted a Reddit comment that: “I’ve changed job now, but in my old job I was making around $850 a week working full time. When I see…
Here’s some fun and games I recently helped a first-time caller / long-time-listener out with. This person had brought some pots from Facebook supposedly sold by two brothers running a restaurant in Wellington who are ceasing operations for retirement. Rather than sell their equipment to the liquidators, they were selling…
Experts from Sweden’s Psychological Defence Agency (PDA) are visiting New Zealand. They’re talking with researchers, military and civil defence people on decision-making during a grey-zone or “hybrid” war.A casual read of the PDA’s website illustrates its focus is on slapping Swedes out of an uncritical mindset that everything they read…
Interesting day! Quietly loving how the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) operates 🙂The BSA is a New Zealand government body created under the Broadcasting Act 1989. Their function is to “receive and determine complaints from persons who are dissatisfied with the outcome of complaints made to broadcasters”, and to encourage the…
Kiwisaver was a policy initiative introduced with a big hiss and a roar by Michael Cullen back in the Helen Clark government in May 2005.Convinced that he had single handedly created a government fiscal surplus through his superior fiscal rectitude, he seemed to think no one was as good at…
When we think about environmental resources what do we mean by “sustainable” development? Economic growth is the change over time in the volume of goods and services which are available for investment or consumption. With increased production comes higher incomes, wealth, and improved living standards. Economic development, the reward from…
New Zealand is currently in the worst economic recession since the Mother of All Budgets back in 1990. Our Golden Years (1998 – 2008) are well behind us. The business cycleHere’s a little thing I fizzed up when I was at the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research but have…
Last week I boldly and deftly led from the back a small, but hardy group, of timid (but brave!) adventurous thrill-seeking explorers into the mountains of New Caledonia. Our quest: we searched for the final resting place of a World War 2 United States Airforce Douglas R4D-1 supply plane that…
BTW: a gentle plug for Pressreader.com, my source of truth, alternative truth, and the most likely thing that occupies the middle.Is he good? Is he bad? Does he care? Is he strong? Does he love America and hate war? Or does he love power, and hate freeloaders..Frequent readers of my…
CAUTION: GORY PHOTOS IN BLOG With sepsis and streptococcus infection to my leg, I could have died. Merci beaucoup Doctors Sylvain Rouches and Lisa McIlwraith. Merci New Caledonia’s health system, Allianz Insurance and SPC. Merci beaucoup to Rebecca for her care, my friends and everyone in the health care system…
As an Economist, this REALLY annoys me: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/560417/opposition-ramps-up-to-government-s-pay-equity-moveThe whole concept that you can look across different industries and try to equate remuneration rates without looking at the demand and supply pressures on the industries themselves is economic ignorance and massively annoying!For Economists, its like people claiming the Earth is flat…
Key Pay Equity CaselawWith a good head of steam built up, I dived into the main caselaw: Terranova Homes & Care Ltd V Service And Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota Inc Ca631/2013 [2014] NZCA 516 [28 October 2014] (Bartlett Case), fully expecting to find another ugly piece of activist…
I’ve sold my boat, which I brought with John Wood and John Andrews.Here’s some happy snaps. I’m feeling all nostalgic… There’s nothing more certain in this world than the fact that everything around you that you know and love will change.… queue sad song
So awhile ago, in a moment of sickness, I Got All Creative and had a fun time at home one work day whilst feeling very sick. The best thing about the Fundamentals of Music website was the it taught the basics of music, keys, tones, scales etc.Well, now I’m in…
Its been almost two months weeks since I moved to Noumea. It’s time for a bit of retrospection: what’s gone well, what hasn’t, what have been the obstacles, lessons learned, and the rewards gained. What has gone really well The Organisation of Opportunity The Pacific Community (SPC) is such an…
Yeah, no idea either, but I’m sick of hearing it over here in New Caledonia…
This is the bay directly across the road from my serviced apartment
So there I was…It’s not every day you find yourself in Fiji. Especially when this morning you were getting your kitchen installed, after your wife had just melted down about how bad the kitchen was.I bagged my stuff and tools of my trade and shuffled out the door of a…
Mmm… American politics are for Americans to decide. But… …Was Biden the best candidate the Democrats could really offer up to American voters?