💦For all you water nerds out there - here's a new study of NZ's urban water pricing data gaps and implications for evidence-based policy reform, authors include our Afflilate Julia Talbot-Jones and former Research Analyst Thomas Benison 👍🏽

🗣️ Language barriers slow innovation (and fixing them unlocks new ideas faster) shows new research from Motu and RIETI. 🙌🏽 Our Fellow Kyle Higham and Sadao Nagaoka (RIETI, Japan) have just published in the prestigious Nature Human Behaviour journal. Link in comments below.

Not to say "we told you so"... but we did, indeed, tell you so: www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2025/10/21/r... www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2025/10/29/m... It's clearly time for urgent and robust discussions about value, access, climate, well-being, transport choice & more. We are extremely here for it.

🔍 🧐 What’s holding back R&D investment in Aotearoa & what we can do about it? Sharing again this great analysis in BusinessDesk NZ with Motu Fellow Kyle Higham & Motu Associate Troy Baisden sharing fresh insights on why R&D matters for our economic future & why our system is struggling to keep pace.

😍 Ngā mihi again to Jake Koekemoer who (with Celia Karl) co-won our 2024 Āheitanga Thesis scholarship. 🦾One of Motu Research's main objectives is building capability in young researchers (& government employees) in economic & public policy research. L to R - Celia Karl, Jake Koekemoer & Dave Maré.

👨‍👨‍👦 How can parents shape their children’s early learning and wellbeing — and where do the biggest differences begin? We've just published this study, tracking how family circumstances link to children’s literacy, numeracy and social and emotional skills by age 4.5 years.

Cost of living pressures in Aotearoa NZ continue as a live issue. Informed discussion about it needs to continue too. In this 2025 Stuff piece by @Emma Ricketts, Motu Research Senior Fellow Arthur Grimes unpacks what really shifted for households at the end of the pandemic era.

🧐 How big are the gender and ethnic pay gaps in Aotearoa New Zealand? Sizeable! 🧮 In December, our Senior Fellow Dave Maré estimated the size as at 2025. This was an update of research he did in 2023. Dave suggests one way to reduce the gender pay gap could be to make men’s pay rates lower.

Nau mai, harae mai / a big warm welcome to our newest Research Fellow, Leon Stirk-Wang.🧠 Leon is an economist specialising in causal inference, applied micro-econometrics & spatial modelling. He has a strong focus on data-intensive policy analysis. He's also really fun to have around in the office.

@rnzrss.bsky.social 's Nine to Noon spoke to our Senior Fellow Tadhg Ryan-Charleton yesterday about our research evaluating the Govt's Research & Development Tax Incentive (RDTI) for business. This report is the 1st major piece of evidence about the impact of the RDTI & how well it is working.

🪴 Flourishing. Another shout out to our Affiliate & ex-Research Analyst Livvy Mitchell, graduated with a PhD in Economics from Auckland University of Technology. 🦾One of Motu's main objectives is building capability in young researchers (& government employees) in economic & public policy research.

🙌🏻 Proud! Our Senior Fellow Stuart Donovan was recently appointed to the Independent Hearings Panel for @Auckland Council's proposed Plan Change 120. More details on the plan and panel ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/news/2025/12...

Our much loved Motu public policy seminars are a (very popular) way we educate policy makers, academics etc, kick-starting collective thinking & conversation on urgent social, environmental & economic issues. Recording/slides are available for our most recent seminar (joint with Home Foundation).

🎉Congratulations to Affiliate & ex-Research Analyst Livvy Mitchell, freshly graduated with a PhD in Economics from Auckland University of Technology. ⛑️Livvy is an applied micro-econometrician examining health, labour & crime issues, focusing on the social and economic impacts of youth adversity.

New research - an evaluation of the Govt's Research & Development Tax Incentive (RDTI) for business. This report is the first major piece of evidence about the impact of the RDTI and how well it is working. We were engaged by MBIE to do this report.

🙌🏻 Super proud of our Senior Fellow Stuart Donovan, recently appointed to the Independent Hearings Panel for Auckland Council's proposed Plan Change 120. 🤟🏽 Ka pai/well done, Stuart.

🧐 How big are the gender and ethnic pay gaps in Aotearoa New Zealand? Sizeable! 🧮 Our Senior Fellow Dave Maré recently estimated the size as at 2025. This was an update of research he did in 2023. 📉 Dave suggests one way to reduce the gender pay gap could be to make men’s pay rates lower.

🔥 Our Affiliate Troy Baisden was on RNZ's Mediawatch recently, discussing misinformation about EV's malfunctioning and causing fires. The story was in the context of the Goverment slashing by 80% the clean car standard - which incentivised sales of low- or zero-emission vehicles. 🚗

Another shout out to Sophie O'Brien, our ex-Research Analyst!👩🏽‍🎓 At Motu Research, we’re helping a new generation of young researchers flourish.🪴One of our main objectives is building the capability of young researchers (and government employees) in economic and public policy research. 🦾

🔍 🧐 What’s holding back research & development (R&D) investment in Aotearoa NZ, and what we can do about it? Great analysis in BusinessDesk NZ, with Motu Fellow Kyle Higham and Motu Associate Troy Baisden sharing fresh insights on why R&D matters for our economic future....

ℹ️ The seminar recording & slides are available for our recent joint Motu Research/Home Foundation public policy seminar, where Motu Fellow Jaimie Monk, PhD Monk & Senior Fellow Arthur Grimes explored the relationship between public housing & wellbeing. All info here - www.motu.nz/about-us/pub...

💙 Haere rā & a huge thank you from us to Lesley Haines & Dr Parehau Richards, who recently completed terms on our Motu Research Trust Board. Lesley was not just an excellent board member – she was also once the Executive Director of Motu Research, so her contribution to us was vast.

🏙️ Yass! We received a Marsden Fund Fast Start grant to explore how Aotearoa NZ’s cities & towns can better support productivity/wellbeing.🔍 Led by Senior Fellow Stuart Donovan, with Dave Maré, Arthur Grimes (Motu) & Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy (UoA), the team will study how urban centres grow & thrive.

📖 Our 2024-2025 Annual Report: now available. Link👇🏻 Our work continues to have a highly influential impact, including informing government policy. 👨🏻‍🎓 Ranked as NZ's leading economics research organisation, we continue to win contracts/grants in the current constrained science funding environment.🔬

👩🏽‍🎓 Motu is helping a new generation of young researchers flourish.🪴1 of our main objectives is building capability of young researchers (& government employees) in economic/public policy research. 🦾 We were delighted to see the great things our ex-Research Analyst, Sophie O'Brien achieved recently.

⏰Remember - register & join us for free (in person or online) for a joint Motu Research/Home Foundation public policy seminar, where Motu Fellow Jaimie Monk, PhD and Senior Fellow Arthur Grimes will explore the relationship between public housing and wellbeing across different stages of life.

🎉Another shout out to Anushka Castaing, our Sir Frank Holmes Prize winner this year! 🎉 One main objective of Motu Research: building capability in young researchers (and government employees) in economic and public policy research.

💡 Something to be aware of - wage patterns in Aotearoa New Zealand are more favourable for European migrants, Asian and Middle Eastern, Latin American and African employees - less favourable for Māori, Pacific and NZ-born European workers. www.motu.nz/our-research...

Join us for free (in person or online) for a joint Motu Research/Home Foundation public policy seminar, where Motu Fellow Jaimie Monk, PhD and Senior Fellow Arthur Grimes will explore the relationship between public housing and wellbeing across different stages of life.

🔍How does research flow into public policy in Aotearoa NZ, and what happens when the research and policy systems are under strain — as they are currently?

💰 Our new groundbreaking research reveals over $500 million of KiwiSaver & other retail investments have been lent to governments on “high alert” for human rights violations. Most investors have no idea — but our savings are helping fund state activities in countries with poor human rights records.

💛 Haere rā and thank you, Jo Wills. After more than a decade of service, Jo has stepped down as Chair of the Motu Economic and Public Policy Research Trust.

🏙️ Exciting news: Motu received a Marsden Fund Fast Start grant to explore how Aotearoa NZ’s cities & towns can better support productivity & wellbeing.

💰 Our new research finds over $500 million of KiwiSaver and other retail investments are lent to governments on “high alert” for human rights violations. This hidden corner of ethical investing — sovereign bonds — has flown under the radar. It’s time to change that. See more in comments below👇🏽

🎓Congratulations to Anushka Castaing, this year’s winner of Motu’s Sir Frank Holmes Prize! 👏🏽Each year, we award this $5k prize to NZ's top undergraduate economics student — encouraging future leaders in econometrics and evidence-based policy.

💡 Our new research looks at how fairly people from different ethnic/migrant backgrounds are paid for the value they create at work in NZ. Findings: wage patterns more favourable for Europeans migrants, Asian & Middle Eastern, Latin American & Africans, less so for Māori, Pacific & NZ-born Europeans.

🌏Join this week's seminar! The Environmental Defense Fund will share insights from a Nature Communications commentary co-written with Motu on practical, evidence-based solutions to ensure workers/ communities aren't left behind in shifting to net-zero energy emissions. See Links below👇🏽

🌏Join this week's seminar! The Environmental Defense Fund will share insights from a Nature Communications commentary co-written with Motu on practical, evidence-based solutions to ensure workers/ communities aren't left behind in shifting to net-zero energy emissions. See Links below👇🏽

Ethnic wage gaps are stubborn in Aotearoa NZ. Our new study finds education, demographics & job type explain some gaps between Māori, Pacific & European groups — but not all. Big differences remain, pointing to systemic barriers. We need clear evidence like this to build fairer policies. Link below👇🏽

Our new research looks at how much workplaces explain ethnic pay gaps in Aotearoa NZ. The study finds where people work explains only a small part of the gap. Most differences come from pay gaps in the same workplace. Closing gaps inside workplaces is key to a fairer, more inclusive labour market.👇🏽

House prices up 142%. Renters’ wellbeing down. Motu research shows NZ’s housing boom deepened wellbeing inequality — renters feel it most. Time to align housing and monetary policy with people’s wellbeing. RNZ covered the research last week. Links below to article & research👇🏽

Our new research looks at how much workplaces explain ethnic pay gaps in Aotearoa NZ. The study finds where people work explains only a small part of the gap. Most differences come from pay gaps in the same workplace. Closing gaps inside workplaces is key to a fairer, more inclusive labour market.👇🏽

House prices up 142%. Renters’ wellbeing down. Motu research shows NZ’s housing boom deepened wellbeing inequality — renters feel it most. Time to align housing and monetary policy with people’s wellbeing. Bernard Hickey/Andrea Black covered it in The Kākā. Links below to podcast & research👇🏽

Quick! Applications close in 2 days for our Āheitanga Thesis scholarship (5pm, 15 Oct). See comments 👇🏽. Every year, Motu Research offers up to two $5k scholarships to enhance research capacity in our Māori community. Scholarships offered to uni students of Māori descent towards a post grad thesis.

Our new research looks at how much workplaces explain ethnic pay gaps in Aotearoa NZ. The study finds where people work explains only a small part of the gap. Most differences come from pay gaps in the same workplace. Closing gaps inside workplaces is key to a fairer, more inclusive labour market.👇🏽

Delighted our Senior Fellow Stuart Donovan is a member of the Infrastructure Priorities Programme (IPP) review panel under NZ Infrastructure Commission Te Waihanga. The IPP brings rigour & transparency to how NZ picks infrastructure projects to back. Looking fwd to what this delivers for Aotearoa.🔗👇🏽

⏰ Applications for Motu’s Āheitanga Thesis Scholarship close 5pm, 3 Oct 2025. Each year we offer up to two $5k scholarships to support Māori students. Past recipient Lara Greaves (Ngāpuhi) got an A+ for her Masters and is now an Associate Professor in politics at Victoria University. Details here 👇🏽

Ethnic wage gaps are stubborn in Aotearoa NZ. Our new study finds education, demographics & job type explain some gaps between Māori, Pacific & European groups — but not all. Big differences remain, pointing to systemic barriers. We need clear evidence like this to build fairer policies. Link below👇🏽

Applications are open for our Āheitanga Thesis scholarship till 5pm, 3 Oct 2025. Link below for more info. Jake Koekemoer (Te Ātiawa o te Waka-a-Māui & pictured in middle below) co-won the 2024 scholarship last year, using it on his thesis for his now completed Masters at the University of Waikato.

🤔 Shifting to a low-emissions economy that also delivers decent work, protects livelihoods & leaves no one behind. 🙌🏽 We've recently been published in the prestigious Nature Communications (with an international team from multiple institutions) looking at just that. www.nature.com/articles/s41...