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Promoting well-informed and reasoned debate on public policy issues that matter to New Zealanders. 
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Wellbeing and policy, Aotearoa style

Treasury’s Living Standards Framework has been closely aligned with international models such as the OECD for over ten years. Some have said it is too generic and not sufficiently attuned to what wellbeing means in…

Human rights

Monitoring enjoyment of the rights to adequate housing and health care and protection in Aotearoa New Zealand

Authors: Livvy Mitchell | Susan Randolph | Paddy Baylis

Working Paper

This new paper shows successive New Zealand Governments have failed to keep human rights promises so all Kiwis can have the basic levels of housing and health care and protection in Aotearoa. The New Zealand…

Updates

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2021-09-27

Government failing human rights promises for housing/health care and protection, research

A new paper from Motu Research shows successive New Zealand Governments have failed to keep human rights promises so all…

2021-09-08

Izi Sin receives NZIER Early Career Economics Leader Award

Izi Sin is the recipient of the inaugural NZIER Early Career Economics Leader Award for 2021. The $10,000 award recognises…

2021-09-03

New research documents challenges with industrial free allocation in the NZ ETS

A new paper from Motu Research documents why the current approach to industrial free allocation under the New Zealand Emissions…

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Recent events

October 27, 2021

Buildings for net-zero: the European Union experience with sustainable housing regulation and implementation

The recently published report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) signals ‘a code red for humanity and recommends
that greenhouse gas emissions decrease as soon and as quickly as possible. Developed economies like the European Union and Aotearoa New Zealand can help in this effort by leading by example. Reducing our buildings' footprint is an important component to the transition to net-zero, yet many of those buildings that will stand in 2050 are energy inefficient buildings that already stand today.

August 26, 2021

Motu Women on equitable, effective climate transition

All children should be able to expect a future where they have the opportunity to thrive. Climate change is one of the greatest threats to that future. Acting on it effectively and fast is essential. We still have choices about how we halt climate change. More equitable decision-making and action (both within our own society and across diverse countries) all of which must rapidly head toward net zero, is a moral imperative and may also make the transformational change we seek more effective and durable.

August 12, 2021

Confronting freshwater security challenges and pathways to resilience.

It is critical that we understand the contribution of climate change to water insecurity and yet there are still many challenges to measuring these impacts. How can we plan for freshwater resilience in New Zealand and safeguard our most precious resource?

Featured work

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Individual and group outcomes

Rates of driver licence holding in Aotearoa New Zealand

Authors: Isabelle Sin | Hannah Kotula

Note

This note describes the rates which various subpopulations of Aotearoa New Zealand’s population hold licences for motor cars and light motor vehicles.
Climate change mitigation

Methodology for Modelling Distributional Impacts of Emissions Budgets on Employment in New Zealand

Authors: Lynn Riggs | Livvy Mitchell

Working Paper

Efforts to reduce emissions to counter climate change are expected to have both costs and benefits, and these effects are likely to be unevenly distributed across the population. Hence, we developed the Distributional Impacts Microsimulation…
Housing

Housing, Health and the Well-being of Children

Authors: Lynn Riggs | Shakked Noy | Philippa Howden-Chapman | Miranda Devlin

Other

This study investigates the relationship between indoor damp, mould, cold and household crowding and the health outcomes of young children exposed to those conditions in Aotearoa.
Emissions trading

Future Options for Industrial Free Allocation in the NZ ETS

Authors: Catherine Leining | Benjamin Rontard

Working Paper

This new Motu Research paper examines a range of options for reforming industrial free allocation: changing the eligibility criteria, changing the calculation methodology, substituting alternative measures, or accepting and managing emissions leakage. Further research is…
Human rights

Finding the Gaps: Monitoring Economic and Social Rights in the Pacific

Authors: Shaan Badenhorst | Susan Randolph | John Stewart

Working Paper

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI) provides annual scores to show how well countries are meeting their human rights obligations and treating their people as well as they can.  HRMI's economic and social rights measurement methodology uses Purchasing Power…
Human rights

Monitoring Economic and Social Rights in the Pacific

Authors: Shaan Badenhorst | Susan Randolph | John Stewart

Working Paper

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI) provides annual scores to show how well countries are meeting their human rights obligations and treating their people as well as they can.  This report looks at economic and social rights enjoyment in…
Climate change mitigation

Predicted Distributional Impacts of Climate Change Policy on Employment

Authors: Lynn Riggs | Livvy Mitchell

Working Paper

Efforts to reduce emissions to counter climate change are expected to have both costs and benefits. These effects are likely to be unevenly distributed across the population.  We examined the potential distributional impacts on employment…
Individual and group outcomes

Understanding the Origins of Populist Political Parties and the Role of External Shocks

Authors: Isabelle Sin | Steven Stillman | Eugenio Levi

Working Paper

This research finds that both structural reforms of the government (which led to large negative impacts on some areas in Aotearoa New Zealand) and immigration reforms (which led to large increases in skilled migration in…
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