Working papers, policy reports, journal publications and annual reports
We produce a variety of publications including working papers, journal articles, policy reports and book chapters.
2025
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Document Description: Gerry Cotterell and Susan St John examine low-income family policies under the Sixth Labour Government of New Zealand, (2017 to 2023). The analysis assesses how far these policies represent a significant shift from the previous National-led governments' approach, which in turn was a continuance of National's 1990s welfare paradigm introduced in the 1990s.
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PIE working paper 2025-3: Superannuation as a basic income . Size: 3.3 MB.
Document Description: PIE journal publication, St John, S. New Zealand Superannuation as a basic income Policy Quarterly, Volume 21, Issue 3, August 2025 pages 59-65, Victoria University of Wellington
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PIE working paper 2025-2 Aged Care - Good, better, best. Size: 191.3 kB.
Document Description: The small trans-disciplinary team, including a geriatrician, an economist, a sociologist and two research associates, assembled in 2022 for the research project: “Aged Care in a Changing World”, brought a rich range of approaches and perspectives. The first stage of the project was interviewing stakeholders in the aged care sector in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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PIE working paper 2025-1: New Zealand Superannuation as a basic income. . Size: 875.7 kB.
Document Description: The modelling illustrates that significant savings maybe achieved from a suitably progressive separate tax schedule for those who opt onto the basic income, called here the New Zealand Superannuation Grant (NZSG). Alignment of the various rates of NZS may generate additional saving.
2024
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PIE Policy Report 2024-1: Fair Economic Return (FER) v Land Tax . Size: 881.1 kB.
Document Description: This paper compares the Fair Economic Return (FER) to Land Tax (LT) to clarify the feasible policy choices if another damaging speculative housing cycle is to be prevented in Aotearoa New Zealand. FER would broaden the tax base to help meet the inevitable fiscal pressures arising from the ageing population and climate change. The intent is also to reduce housing inequality and allow the limited real housing resources to be redirected from high end real estate investments to provision of sound, safe, basic housing.
2023
2022
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PIE Policy Report 2022-2: Fair Economic Return Revisited. Size: 688.2 kB.
Document Description: This PIE Policy paper provides a commentary on the authors’ original paper Fair Economic Return Restoring equity to the social fabric of New Zealand for the changed housing climate of 2022.
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PIE Policy Report 2022-1: The Irish Autoenrolment. Size: 590.8 kB.
Document Description: This independent commentary on the Irish Autoenrolment (AE) scheme by Susan St John is part of a wider review of the AE policy in Ireland by TOR Financial Consulting Ltd. It draws on the New Zealand experience with KiwiSaver and its relevance for women.
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AE policy in Ireland: A critique. Size: 11.1 MB.
Document Description: The full report from TOR Financial Consulting Ltd.