There are many geographic and demographic similarities between Finland and New Zealand but their telecommunications markets show marked differences. Finland has seen greater broadband penetration and a higher degree of voice traffic substitution from fixed to mobile connections while New Zealand...

This report suggests that the telecommunications market in New Zealand is surprisingly mature. We infer that the potential for growth is limited. There has been negligible growth in any of the number of fixed lines either business or residential since 2000. The number of residential lines is...

The paper takes the efficiency objective of the authorisation process under theCommerce Act 1986 as given. This objective makes competition law completely consistent with thrust of New Zealand public policy since the early 1980s. This has entailed the separation of efficiency and equity in...

New Zealand is about to implement the world's first "all sectors all gases" emissions trading scheme yet the country emits only 0.2% of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions and not all the impacts of climate change on New Zealand are predicted to be negative. On the other hand New...

Setting aside certain complications that can arise due to market power it is a relatively straightforward matter to derive (if not implement) a valuation formula for FTRs and to relate FTR valuation with the proceeds of the FTR auction allowing for both taxation and auction efficiency. If the...

Two-part tariffs are a common feature of utility pricing. In particular telecommunications firms apply the two-part tariff to pricing telephony for which there is a telephone network access price and a telephone call price. In this paper the influence of income on an optimal two-part tariff is...

There has been no shortage of villains in the financial crisis which began in Asia and has now encompassed all major emerging markets: bankers regulators hedge funds and the IMF have all been excoriated for incompetence and immorality. This paper argues that the problems which have emerged from...

Professor John Creedy presents his reflections on the Tax Working Group Report (Report available here.) John presents his findings to a Wellington audience on Tuesday 23 February and in Auckland on Thursday 25 February.

New Zealand's current competition laws like Canada's are comparatively new. The Commerce Act (the "Act") and Canada's Competition Act were both passed in 1986. The New Zealand Act in essence recognises the efficiencies defence. Where a merger is likely to result in the acquisition of a dominant...

In 1988 the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission gave permission for the University of Iowa to begin operating the Iowa Electronic Market (IEM) thus ushering in the world's first information market (sometimes called a prediction market). Similar markets have subsequently appeared at the...