More on AT’s Light Rail Proposal
We have been sent more LRT details from AT. Light Rail is undergoing investigation at this point, but slowly more of their thinking is emerging: Clearly access to Wynyard is the most difficult part of this route. Queen St is so LRT ready and at last a use for that hitherto hopeless little bypass: Ian Mackinnion Drive.…
127 Comments Are we measuring housing affordability correctly?
As someone who uses statistics (and statistical methods) on a regular basis, I often find that the “headline figures” that get all the attention obscure as much as they reveal. For example, reporting a single benefit-cost ratio (BCR) for a project may conceal uncertainty about potential outcomes.…
Isolated in the quarter-acre pavlova paradise?
The other week, the NZ Herald reported on some new research into Kiwis’ sense of social connectedness. The results, unfortunately, are fairly dismal:
New research has found that New Zealanders are losing touch with their neighbours – and it’s affecting our wellbeing.…
Trade over distance and the Auckland export paradox
What, exactly, does Auckland do to pay its way?
Last year, I took a look at the geography of the New Zealand economy, finding that New Zealand’s three main cities accounted for at least 56% of GDP. Auckland alone accounted for at least 34% of economic activity – considerably more than the entirety of rural New Zealand: (By the way, these figures are likely to under-estimate the size and productivity of the Auckland economy.…
The urban planning conundrum
Since I moved to Auckland, I’ve been trying to make sense of local trends in house prices. Why have they risen over the last decade? Will they keep going up, or crash back down to earth? What’s driving all this?
Over the last few years, a lot of the focus has been put on the role of planning regulations in pushing up prices.…
The moral case for immigration
In a post several weeks back, I talked about the economic case for immigration and population growth. In it, I hypothesised that:
New Zealand has a strong feedback loop between net migration and economic growth. When growth prospects get worse – as they did in the 1970 and 1980s – it dissuades people from coming here and encourages Kiwis to leave for greener pastures.…
Do property taxes affect housing affordability?
A few weeks ago, I took a look at property taxation in the US, Canada, and New Zealand. I found that Auckland homes are taxed lightly by comparison – rates average 0.39% of house value. Property tax rates are twice as high in most of the other cities I looked at.…
“Ravenously space-hungry monsters”
Stu’s talk at an IPENZ forum the other week put forth a lot of smart critiques of and recommendations for the transport profession. I was particularly taken by this slide: Stu argues that failing to account for the “opportunity cost” associated with using valuable land for moving cars can lead us to misallocate resources.…
Working paper: Trade-offs in urban planning
Back in April, I had the opportunity to present a paper on the economics of urban planning at the New Zealand Planning Institute’s annual conference. The paper, which benefited from the support of my employer, MRCagney, and discussions with a menagerie of planners and other economists, is now available online for anyone who’s interested.…
Are Aucklanders paying too much in rates?
Aucklanders (and, I suspect, people in general) complain about high and rising property taxes. But are our rates actually too high? Compared to what?
An article last year reported on what ratepayers are paying in each of New Zealand’s territorial authorities:
Not surprisingly, rates in the most sought-after areas are also high.…
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