Motu Economic and Public Policy Research

Motu Economic and Public Policy Research is New Zealand’s leading non-profit economic and public policy research institute. We are fully independent. Our reputation is based on our work not being compromised by any expressed ideology or political position.

Download a short description of Motu’s current research in progress (PDF 155KB).

Our strength lies in our people. All seven Motu senior researchers have PhDs from top international universities, as well as extensive public policy-related work experience. We maintain strong links with a large pool of internationally renowned experts and these international connections are critical to our success. We have professional affiliations with NERO and EDN. 

Since Motu was founded in September 2000, our objectives have remained the same. The Trust was established to promote well informed and reasoned debate on public policy issues relevant to New Zealand decision making. To this end we are committed to three broad goals: research, capacity building and dissemination.

Motu’s success is built on our high quality research. Our distinctive contribution to the New Zealand public policy environment comes from an emphasis on sound empirical analysis, which is supported by expertise in and knowledge of economic theory and institutional design. We choose research areas that build on the interests and expertise of our researchers. Our research can be divided into five broad categories: environmental regulation; housing; economic geography; labour and population economics; and macroeconomics, monetary economics and economic performance.

We work to build economic and public policy research capacity in New Zealand. Our researchers teach university courses and supervise thesis students; we offer junior research roles and we provide opportunities for Motu researchers to further their training. We also make data more available, host international academic visitors, and run conferences, dialogue groups and workshops.

Motu is committed to freely disseminating our research findings. Our communications are designed to build trust in our research, independence and charitable status. We also provide communicative tools for others’ research relevant to New Zealand public policy. Our primary audiences are the New Zealand public policy service, economic and public policy researchers, private sector organisations, Maori organisations and non-profit organisations, with some information tailored for the wider public.

Motu is funded through research grants, sponsorship for our Public Policy Seminar Series and small annual contributions from Motu Friends. In July 2006 we established a separate charitable organisation, the Motu Research and Education Foundation, to develop opportunities from our research. The Foundation receives annual funding from patrons and occasional contributions from donors.  To date, the Foundation has provided seed funding for new areas of research, offered scholarships and internships to promising young researchers, sponsored an economics conference and provided support for international visitors. The Foundation continues to grow, and we plan to expand these activities in the coming years.