Author Archives: Brian Easton

Value in Goods Exchange

VALUE IN GOODS EXCHANGE Listener: 7 January, 2012. Keywords: Maori; Political Economy & History; My marginal contribution to maritime historian Joan Druett’s book Tupaia: Captain Cook’s Polynesian Navigator was to comment at a dinner table that the Tahitian chief’s considerable part in the development of New Zealand was hardly acknowledged. The observation was made as…
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Europe’s Economic Struggle

Listener: 22 December, 2011. Keywords: Macroeconomics & Money; It has been another difficult year for the world economy. Longstanding problems that were incrementally addressed include population growth, the depletion of limited resources like oil, the exploitation of free resources that threaten to make fish extinct and warm the planet, and the rebalancing of global power….
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Stopping the Credit Crunch

Listener: 10 December, 2011. Keywords: Macroeconomics & Money; The confidence of those lending their international money is fragile. The tougher standards of security they now demand is one reason many debtors around the world are having their credit ratings downgraded. Nowadays the lenders don’t look at just the state of a government’s books but at…
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Those Who Shaped New Zealand Make an Impression.

An interview by Emma Beer, published in ‘The Wellingtonian’, 24 November, 2011. Keywords: Literature and Culture; Political Economy & History; What begins with Michael Joseph Savage and Gordon Coates and ends with Rob Muldoon and Roger Douglas? A new exhibition that catalogues 60 of the most important makers of modern New Zealand, curated by Wellington…
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60 Makers Of New Zealand: 1930-1990 at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery

Keywords: Literature and Culture; Political Economy & History; 60 Makers of New Zealand: 1930-1990:  is at the New Zealand  Portrait Gallery from 24 November 2011 to 12 February 2012. It was curated by Brian Easton. The following is a list of items on the website. At the end is the list of individuals who are…
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The Panels for 60 Makers Of Modern New Zealand: 1930-1990.

60 Makers of New Zealand: 1930-1990:  is at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery from 24 November 2011 to 12 February 2012. It was curated by Brian Easton. Keywords: Literature and Culture; Political Economy & History; The following are the panels to go with the portraits. (Each is constrained to 250 words.) They are also tell…
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Curator’s Opening Address: 60 Makers Of New Zealand: 1930-1990 at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery

60 Makers of New Zealand: 1930-1990:  is at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery from 24 November 2011 to 12 February 2012. It was curated by Brian Easton. Keywords: Literature and Culture; Political Economy & History; Thank you for coming this evening. I hope you find the exhibition interesting and provocative. I am sure you will…
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For the Media: 60 Makers Of New Zealand: 1930-1990 at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery

60 Makers of New Zealand: 1930-1990:  is at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery from 24 November 2011 to 12 February 2012. It was curated by Brian Easton. Keywords: Literature and Culture; Political Economy & History; Choosing 60 New Zealanders to reflect the development of New Zealand was not easy, says Dr Brian, Easton Curator of…
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Curator’s Statement: 60 Makers Of Modern New Zealand: 1930-1990.

60 Makers of New Zealand: 1930-1990:  is at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery from 24 November 2011 to 12 February 2012. It was curated by Brian Easton. Keywords: Literature and Culture; Political Economy & History; This exhibition is an experiment to see whether a history of New Zealand can be represented by a series of…
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Treasury Improving

Listener: 23 November, 2011. Keywords: History of Ideas, Methodology & Philosophy; Social Policy; Economists always knew income was just one contributor to total well-being, but it was the only bit they could study. Later, as the databases became more comprehensive, new research enabled them to turn their minds to what else matters and to look…
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Nz Child Welfare a Disgrace

Listener: 28 October, 2011. Keywords: Social Policy; Is New Zealand the best place in the world to bring up children? A report from economist David Grimmond, The Effectiveness of Public Investment in New Zealand Children, suggests not. After combining 26 indicators of children’s welfare from 30 OECD countries – ranging from drunkenness, bullying and suicide…
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Venturing out Of Narrow Seas Ii

Stout Research Centre Research Roundup: 26 October 2011 (A previous version of this paper is at http://www.eastonbh.ac.nz/?p=1504) Keywords: Political Economy & History; Today I want to talk about my current project: writing a history of New Zealand from an economics perspective – it has the tentative title Not in Narrow Seas. Economics is not much…
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What Are Our Economic Priorities?

Fabian Society, Wellington, 20 October, 2011 (Note that this is a revised version of the paper at http://www.eastonbh.ac.nz/?p=1524. Keywords: History of Ideas, Methodology & Philosophy; Macroeconomics & Money; Tonight I want to talk about our economic priorities. I’m going to differ from the conventional wisdom by arguing we should pay less attention to the growth…
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An Ethical Economy?

Poverty in New Zealand, St Peters on Willis , Wellington, 17 October, 2011. (This followed a presentation by Stephanie McIntyre, the director of the Downtown Community Ministry.) Keywords: History of Ideas, Methodology & Philosophy; Political Economy & History; I want to begin by saying I have an enormous respect for Stephanie McIntyre, the team she…
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Loose Regulations Sink Economies – and Buildings

Listener: 14 October, 2011. Keywords: Macroeconomics & Money; Regulation & Taxation; I have been preoccupied by leaky building syndrome, which may have damaged up to 110,000 dwellings as well as costing considerable domestic stress and even lives. Commercial and public buildings have suffered, too. There were many causes of the disaster but it illustrates the…
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