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Motu Research is an independent, public-good focused economics and policy research institute. 

We help decision makers in Aotearoa grapple with complex social and environmental issues.
Human rights

Monitoring enjoyment of the rights to adequate housing and health care and protection in Aotearoa New Zealand

Authors: Livvy Mitchell | Susan Randolph | Paddy Baylis

Working Paper

This new paper shows successive New Zealand Governments have failed to keep human rights promises so all Kiwis can have the basic levels of housing and health care and protection in Aotearoa. The New Zealand…

Climate change mitigation

Carbon policy design and distributional impacts: What does the research tell us?

Author: Lynn Riggs

Working Paper

There are two main veins of literature examining the distributional effects of carbon policy: the effects on households and the effects on production sectors (i.e.,…

Updates

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2022-08-16

Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI) becomes entity in its own right

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI), until recently part of Motu Research, has become so successful they are now an…

2022-07-03

Motu researchers win NZAE prizes

Our researchers won several prizes this year at the New Zealand Association of Economists (NZAE) Conference 2022.

2022-06-29

Shakked Noy wins the Motu Doctoral Scholarship 2022

A big congratulations to Shakked Noy, who has been awarded the 2022 Motu Doctoral Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to…

Our Research

Environment

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Urban & regional

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Wellbeing & macro-economics

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Population & labour

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Human rights

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Productivity & innovation

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Public Policy Seminars

June 16, 2022

How can Aotearoa New Zealand best approach immigration policy to boost productivity and wellbeing?

In this seminar, the Productivity Commission presented its recent research on immigration and its final recommendations to the NZ Government on what immigration policy settings would best help Aotearoa New Zealand’s long-term economic growth, productivity and the wellbeing of New Zealanders.

Recent events

January 27, 2022

The Warmer Kiwis Study: An impact evaluation of the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme.

The Warmer Kiwis Study focuses on the heat pump component of the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme, and works directly with a group of about 160 homeowners, who have received, or will receive a grant for an efficient heater. Motu Economic & Public Policy Research, who are leading the study, are collecting new data on health and wellbeing, the indoor environment in homes (including temperature and humidity), and electricity consumption to investigate the actual improvements achieved through EECA’s programme. The study began in 2021, with interim results the subject of this webinar and an interim report to be published on the same day. Final results will be published in December 2022.

November 30, 2021

The role of energy data in enabling climate change mitigation innovation

In this webinar, Gavin Starks provided an introduction to Open Energy: what it is, how it was made and who it is for. He spoke about the Open Energy ecosystem and the relationships and innovation required to establish market-wide standards which can unlock the common data required to help us all address Net Zero. He also covered how opening up the energy sector will impact the wider industrial and financial sectors, enabling the acceleration of low-carbon technologies and de-risking investment in net-zero solutions.

November 1, 2021

Wellbeing and policy, Aotearoa style

Treasury’s Living Standards Framework has been closely aligned with international models such as the OECD for over ten years. Some have said it is too generic and not sufficiently attuned to what wellbeing means in this country. In this seminar we will discuss He Ara Waiora, a mātauranga Māori framing of wellbeing that the Treasury now uses alongside the LSF. We will also discuss some new changes to the LSF that make it work better alongside He Ara Waiora, as well as being better attuned to the topics of child wellbeing and culture.

Featured work

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Individual and group outcomes

Pay gaps – an $18 billion a year issue

Author: Dave Maré

Publication

Different pay rates
For gender and ethnic groups
Add up to a lot!
Individual and group outcomes

Gendered parenting and the intergenerational transmission of gendered stereotypes: Evidence from the Growing Up in New Zealand survey

Authors: Isabelle Sin | Livvy Mitchell | Maanaima Soa-Lafoai | Colleen Ward

Working Paper

This research shows parents are largely not to blame for economic inequality between men and women in Aotearoa New Zealand. Other factors in society, outside parents’ control, are contributing more to ongoing harmful economic gender…
Climate change mitigation

Carbon policy design and distributional impacts: What does the research tell us?

Author: Lynn Riggs

Working Paper

There are two main veins of literature examining the distributional effects of carbon policy: the effects on households and the effects on production sectors (i.e., employment). These literatures have generally arisen from two common arguments against…
Migration

Persecution and migrant self-selection: evidence from the collapse of the communist bloc

Authors: Isabelle Sin | Ran Abramitzky | Travis Baseler

Working Paper

How does persecution affect who migrates? We analyze migrants’ self-selection out of the USSR and its satellite states before and after the collapse of Communism using census microdata from the three largest destination countries: Germany,…
Individual and group outcomes

Effective pathways through education to good labour market outcomes for Māori: Literature summary

Authors: Isabelle Sin | Nic Watson | Shannon Minehan

Working Paper

This literature review provides background for a forthcoming empirical investigation of the pathways through education that lead to successful labour market outcomes for Māori students with different aptitudes in high school. It summarises three main areas…
New Zealand and the world

Accounting for social difference when measuring cultural diversity

Authors: Dave Maré | Jacques Poot

Working Paper

In this paper we introduce a measure of cultural diversity that takes ‘social difference’ between country of birth and ethnic groups into account.   We measure social difference using exploratory factor analysis of subjective identity, attitude…
Individual and group outcomes

Who benefits from firm success? Heterogeneous rent-sharing in New Zealand

Authors: Dave Maré | Corey Allan

Working Paper

See a summary version of this paper by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Do people from different demographics in Aotearoa New Zealand get equal slices of the pie when their workplace passes
Individual and group outcomes

Impact of 2018 Families Package Accommodation Supplement area changes on housing outcomes

Authors: Dave Maré | Dean Hyslop

Working Paper

Our research shows there is little evidence the 2018 increases in the New Zealand Government's accommodation support led to stronger increases in rental costs.
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Level 1, 97 Cuba Street, PO Box 24390

Wellington 6142, New Zealand

Phone: 64 4 939 4250

Email: info@motu.org.nz