Amalgamation options for the Southland region Environment Southland commissioned TDB to undertake a high-level review of the options for integrating its activities with other councils in the Southland region. The report prepared by TDB has now been published on Environment Southland’s website. The report starts by analysing [...]
NZX Research Report of the Year We are proud to announce that a report co-authored by TDB Director Phil Barry and ex-TDBer Dr Tom Stannard (now at Otago University’s Accountancy and Finance Department) was recently named co-winner of the NZX Research Report of the Year at the [...]
Is bigger better? Mergers in electricity distribution A new paper published recently in New Zealand Economic Papers by ex-TDBer Dr. Tom Stannard (now at Otago University’s Accountancy and Finance Faculty) and TDB Director Phil Barry explores the case for economies of scale from mergers in the electricity [...]
Reforming the RMA: heritage designations The Government has initiated a comprehensive reform to the Resource Management Act (RMA), with plans to replace it entirely with new legislation aimed at balancing property rights and environmental outcomes. The RMA is a foundational piece of legislation for the heritage listing [...]
Hi-Cane ban to enhance or reduce national wellbeing? TDB’s latest National Wellbeing Analysis assesses the wellbeing impacts of the EPA’s proposed ban on the use of Hydrogen Cyanamide (Hi-Cane). Our findings were presented recently to the EPA Decision Making Panel on behalf of New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers [...]
Continued decline in smoking rates Last year TDB Advisory and Infometrics undertook a cost-effectiveness review of the controversial Smoked Tobacco Amendment Act. Our report projected that smoking rates were already declining to the point that the country did not need a ban to achieve the Smokefree national target. The results of the latest [...]
Cost-effectiveness Review of Tobacco Regulation In pursuit of the Smokefree 2025 Goal, the recently legislated Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022 made three significant changes to tobacco regulation in New Zealand: decreasing the number of smoked tobacco retailers by over 90%; reducing the [...]
Ports: what role for mixed ownership? The great majority of the international published and peer reviewed empirical literature finds that a degree of private ownership tends to improve firms’ performance on average and over time. Key reasons are that the incentives and ability to monitor 100% government-owned [...]
Phil Barry on RNZ on heritage housing – March 22
Comcom – Covid-19 and Regulated Returns The Covid-19 period coincides with the period the Commerce Commission uses when estimating several key parameters in its current Input Methodologies review. This creates a risk that the estimates which the Commission derives from data over the last three years are [...]