The greatest pay excesses, in New Zealand and elsewhere, are in the private sector. But pay rates for the chief executives of government departments have also spiralled over the last three decades. And more so in New Zealand than almost anywhere else, it seems. The chart below, from the OECD’s Government at a Glance report, shows…

There’s a great piece today on one of the economist’s blogs, arguing that more redistribution is needed to make globalisation work. It’s coming in response to a recent line of attack on anti-inequality arguments: the idea that, because poorer countries are catching up to richer ones, and therefore global inequality is declining, we shouldn’t worry…

This year’s Household Incomes in New Zealand, a key report on poverty and inequality published yesterday, bears very little to cheer about. Key points below. Inequality has risen slightly post the global financial crisis, reversing the decreases we saw before that thanks to policies like Working for Families. Since 2009, incomes have been static or…

The latest OECD report on income inequality is out, showing New Zealand as one of just six countries where inequality was stable or falling from 2007 to 2011. This doesn’t alter what we already knew, which is that nothing much changed here between the global financial crisis and the end of the current data we…

The combined issues of inequality and poverty have surged past traditional concerns about the state of the economy and unemployment to become the number one issue for New Zealanders, according to polling data from Roy Morgan that I’ve just crunched. As you can see from the graph, it’s been a huge rise over the last…

The results of the first-ever trial of a Warrant of Fitness for New Zealand houses are in, and they look good. The trial was run by several local councils, and involved 144 houses around the country being checked for things like having insulation, proper electrical wiring, smoke alarms, no leaks or major mould, proper heating,…

The World Top Incomes Database has just updated its figures for New Zealand’s richest inhabitants. While the update only takes us up to 2011, the figures are still revealing. In 1986, the average person in the top 1% got around $159,000 (adjusted for inflation); in 2011, they got $337,000 – more than double. During that…

When I raise the point that New Zealand has become much more unequal since the 1980s – faster than almost any other country – one of the common responses is: yes, but we’ve made so much social progress since then. Outcomes for traditionally disadvantaged groups have improved as we’ve become a more tolerant and modern…

Disasters often reinforce inequality: those with higher income recover faster than those who had few resources to tide them through the crisis. So when one cares about inequality, as I do, what goes on in somewhere like Christchurch matters deeply. One way that inequality manifests there is in housing. The worst affected are those reliant…

The OECD’s latest research – which warns about concentrating power and privilege at the top, and advocates new tax measures – is yet another sign that even major international institutions have woken up to the danger of inequality. The Focus on Top Incomes shows New Zealand isn’t immune from the 1%er phenomenon. Over the last…