scholarly journals Regulatory Capture in Product Markets and the Power of Business Interests

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoff Bertram
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Chicago School ◽  
Regulatory Capture ◽  
Regulatory Enforcement ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Income Distributions ◽  
Business Interests ◽  
Regulatory Guidelines ◽  
Regulatory Failure ◽  
Wealth And Income Distributions

This article explains pervasive regulatory failure, lagging productivity, and the corporate capture of policy and policymakers as possibly unintended, but not unpredictable, outcomes of the New Zealand Treasury’s radical adoption during the 1980s of public choice and Chicago school doctrines. With deregulation and a limited role of government written into statutes and embodied in regulatory practice, the pathologies identified and described by Buchanan, Tullock, Stigler and their collaborators became more, rather than less, prevalent in the New Zealand regulatory landscape. Privatisation opened the way for looting; the Commerce Act and new regulatory guidelines enabled rather than blocked anticompetitive practices and monopolistic renttaking; relaxed oversight meant that foreign direct investment became more extractive and less productive. From relatively inclusive politics and strong regulatory enforcement, New Zealand shifted towards more extractive institutions and weaker regulation. As a result, market power is exercised by the current business and financial elite in ways that have worsened wealth and income distributions, imposed deadweight burdens (both static and dynamic) on the economy, and now confront policymakers with roadblocks to achieving more inclusive institutions and pursuing a ‘wellbeing’ agenda.

The Goals of Competition Law

2020 ◽  
pp. 58-89
Author(s):  
Rex Ahdar
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Chicago School ◽  
Labour Government ◽  
Business Interests ◽  
Michael Porter ◽  
Workable Competition ◽  
Term Benefit ◽  
Harvard School

The Commerce Act 1986 expressly states its object is to promote “effective or workable competition.” This traditional Harvard School approach has been consistently assailed by big business interests in New Zealand, assisted by a phalanx of “down-under” Chicago School economists and lawyers. Chicagoans have had minor successes in terms of amendments to the principal Act, and some quite notable court victories, but the glittering prize, the overall objective of the Act, has remained unchanged. Chicago won several battles, but lost the war. A major amendment to the Act in 2001, promoted by a Labour government, recast its object to state that its purpose was “to promote competition in markets for the long-term benefit of consumers within New Zealand.” After a quiet period where nothing seemed to have changed, the most recent signs are that a mild preference for consumers is appearing. The chapter also examines the international competitiveness arguments of Michael Porter.

Assessing the economic value of New Zealand design

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-20
Author(s):  
Anna Brown ◽  
Simon Mark ◽  
Margaret Maile Petty
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Government Investment ◽  
Role Of Government

This article examines the challenges and complexities of assessing the value of design in contemporary economies, looking at New Zealand as a case study. Analysing the findings and recommendations of the first assessment of the economic value of design in New Zealand, published in 2017, this article seeks to bring greater clarity and understanding of the role of government and industry in a national design policy and ecosystem. Examining the performance and characteristics of New Zealand’s design ecosystem and the unique characteristics of its design in the context of other countries with well-established design policies, this article argues that the adoption of a nationally coordinated approach to design education and innovation provides widespread benefits. Through the analysis of the 2017 assessment, this article offers insights into viable methodologies for the scholarly study of the value of design. The study concludes by critiquing government investment in design, emphasizing the importance of design to innovation and the performance of companies.

Regulating Public Bodies: The Case of Direct Service Organisations in British Local Government

10.1068/c15m ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 455-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Ashworth ◽  
George A Boyne ◽  
Neil McGarvey ◽  
Richard M Walker
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Regulatory Mechanisms ◽  
Practical Relevance ◽  
Potential Importance ◽  
Regulatory Capture ◽  
Direct Service ◽  
Best Value ◽  
Regulatory Failure ◽  
Regulatory Problems

In recent years regulatory mechanisms and arrangements for public service organisations have become increasingly complex. In this paper we develop a theoretical framework that emphasises the potential importance of the following regulatory problems: regulatee resistance, ritualistic compliance, regulatory capture, performance ambiguity, and absence of performance data. This framework is applied to arrangements for the regulation of direct labour and direct service organisations in Scotland and Wales prior to the ‘Best Value’ regime. The results support the practical relevance of the analytical framework. Furthermore, whereas conventional perspectives suggest that the source of regulatory problems is the behaviour of regulatees, our evidence shows that the behaviour of regulators can also lead to regulatory failure; for example, through ritualistic compliance with procedures. The evidence also reveals a previously unidentified problem concerning a ‘fear of regulation’ on the part of regulators.

scholarly journals Providing for retirement: some key issues

2005 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Hawke
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
The Political ◽  
Retirement Income ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
Public Provision ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Considerable Debate ◽  
Key Issues

This topic has become one of the most problematic areas of policy debate around the world. The onset of a marked demographic transition, combined with debate about the role of government and the efficiency of public provision, has provided both a trigger and a platform for debate. In New Zealand, retirement income policy has been a volatile and unresolved issue since the 1970s. During the 1980s and 1990s there was considerable debate about the long-term policy settings. Following the passage of the New Zealand Superannuation Act (2001) the issue appeared to drop off the political radar. However, it has been revived more recently as a result of political and other contributions – such as New Zealand First’s proposal for a “golden age card” and the New Zealand Institute’s discussion papers on an “Ownership Society”. This flow of ideas, combined with the shifting demographic profile, should ensure that retirement income will remain a live issue in the minds of the electorate.

The Evolution of Competition Law in New Zealand

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rex Ahdar
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Open Economy ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Chicago School ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Market Definition ◽  
Exclusive Dealing ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Legislative Amendments ◽  
Modern Era

This monograph presents a detailed, lively, and original chronicle and analysis of New Zealand’s competition law. The modern era began with the Commerce Act 1986 and since then a steady corpus of case law has traversed all the major areas of antitrust law: cartels, resale price maintenance, exclusive dealing, tying, monopolization, predatory pricing, mergers, private and public enforcement, and so on. The volume explains the rationale for the major reforms of the Commerce Act and traces the development of key concepts such as effective competition, efficiency, market power, market definition, entry barriers, wealth transfers, and public benefit over the last 34 years. The book provides an extended critique of the landmark cases and legislative amendments. It assesses the desirable, and undesirable, aspects of competition law’s interpretation and doctrinal development by the courts and Commerce Commission. Systemic issues are explored such as: how well has New Zealand moulded its own competition law, whilst, nonetheless, selectively drawing upon the policy prescriptions, case law, and wisdom from foreign jurisdictions? How well has it adapted its competition law to the reality of it being a small, distant, isolated, deregulated, open economy? How has the transplanted Harvard School versus Chicago School debate played out in New Zealand? How have unique, if not rash, experiments such as its “light-handed” regulation for utilities worked? It concludes by drawing together the common threads that mark the modern era and offering some predictions about how the next decades of New Zealand competition law might unfold.

International Business by SMEs: Empirical Findings from New Zealand

2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilan Alon ◽  
Leo-Paul Dana ◽  
Anna Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
International Business ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Domestic Market ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Excess Capacity ◽  
Government Assistance ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Small Countries

Why do small firms from small countries internationalize? This study investigates the motives of small-scale entrepreneurs from New Zealand to internationalize via exporting, and particularly evaluate the role of government assistance. Our empirical findings of 139 SMEs situated in the Canterbury region of New Zealand suggest that export is strongly related to government-induced programs. Also important are personal motivations, declining domestic sales, saturated domestic market and excess capacity.

scholarly journals The role of government and accounting in the development of academic research commercialization: The New Zealand experience

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 311-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anil K Narayan
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Early Recognition ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Research Direction ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Research Commercialization ◽  
Historical Role ◽  
The Government ◽  
Role Of The Government

Over the past three decades, many nations have accelerated their efforts to develop academic research commercialization to help drive their innovation and productivity goals. Despite failure to achieve the desired results, surprisingly very few studies have examined how research commercialization initiatives are designed at the government level. This study reviews the historical role of the government and the interplay between significant shifts in research direction, funding and accounting that contributed to the development of academic research commercialization in New Zealand. The paper concludes that funding pressures combined with the government’s lack of early recognition and formal endorsement of research commercialization as a vital activity contributed to previous low levels of academic research commercialization. The important lessons to be learnt from the New Zealand case are that academic research commercialization requires a coherent long-term national strategy that is responsive, promises results and has funding incentives.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document