Issue 9 November 2002
In this issue are the following articles:
Capping network profits in a world of bad news
The often-fierce debate that surrounds the amount of profit a regulated monopoly should earn is usually focused on the regulatory rate of return. Why? Because traditional static analysis of regulation suggests that not much else is important. Yet as we know life isn't static, it is very much dynamic. The latest ISCR research from Lewis Evans and Graeme Guthrie looks at the dynamic efficiency of regulation and reveals that an often-neglected piece of the puzzle may be fundamentally important.
Measuring the benefits of the brave new world
We need to take a new perspective, says ISCR's Bronwyn Howell.
Welcome to your public hospital
You are now entering a morally hazardous zone. Bronwyn Howell investigates.
Why are New Zealanders so wealthy? asks Arthur Grimes
It is commonplace in New Zealand to bemoan our fall in living standards relative to the rest of the developed world. In 1950 New Zealand ranked third in the OECD in terms of GDP per head. That position has fallen to 20th by 1998 and recently Spain passed New Zealand relegating us to 21st place. Government has recently expressed an explicit aim to return New Zealand to the top half of the 28 OECD countries in terms of income per head.
Author:
Arthur Grimes
Rules of conduct
The difficulty in fashioning rules to draw the distinction between legitimate competitive rivalry and unlawful predation is that both forms of conduct often look alike, says Mark Berry. In this article he looks at evolving trends in the analysis of monopolistic conduct.
Author:
Mark Berry
Taxing Privilege
Proposed changes to the use of legal privilege could reduce the efficiency of tax collection in New Zealand according to a new paper by ISCR's Bronwyn Howell and Lisa Marriott
Broadband: Why is it so long?
Many telcos around the world have invested in broadband infrastructure on the basis 'build it and they will come', yet demand has been slow to grow. Bronwyn Howell and Mark Obren investigate.
Vernon Smith - Nobel Laureate
Economists regard him as a frontiers-man and it's not just because of his trademark string tie and cowboy boots. Judy Kavanagh explains.
Author:
Judy Kavanagh
