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Keith Rankin
Political Economist, Scoop Columnist
Keith Rankin taught economics at Unitec in Mt Albert since 1999. An economic historian by training, his research has included an analysis of labour supply in the Great Depression of the 1930s, and has included estimates of New Zealand's GNP going back to the 1850s.
Keith believes that many of the economic issues that beguile us cannot be understood by relying on the orthodox interpretations of our social science disciplines. Keith favours a critical approach that emphasises new perspectives rather than simply opposing those practices and policies that we don't like.
Keith retired in 2020 and lives with his family in Glen Eden, Auckland.
Keith Rankin - Latest News [Page 1]
Hiroshima Day Reflection: An End To The Russia-Ukraine War?
Friday, 7 August 2026, 4:11 pm | Keith Rankin
Neither Moscow nor Kyiv is in a situation like Japan was in July 1945; though Kyiv may yet end up in such a situation. More >>
The State Of The New Zealand Economy: A Balance-Sheet Recession?
Thursday, 6 August 2026, 4:23 pm | Keith Rankin
Whenever circumstances or information change, parrots and too many economists are unable to make the appropriate intellectual adjustments. More >>
When Did World War Two End And The Cold War Begin?
Wednesday, 5 August 2026, 6:22 pm | Keith Rankin
Geopolitics is still largely treated as a game by its more entitled protagonists, despite all having changed for the world to see on 6 August 1945. Nuclear civilian collateral damage dates back 81 years. More >>
Pivot Point In Human History?
Friday, 31 July 2026, 3:34 pm | Keith Rankin
Cline, writing in 2021 during the Delta wave of Covid19, concurred with Harvey, only adding the overblown Covid19 pandemic into the mix. Thus 2020 was his candidate to rival 1177BC. More >>
Nuclear Oceania And Asymmetric Warfare
Wednesday, 29 July 2026, 2:18 pm | Keith Rankin
The next nuclear war will be an asymmetric war, and Iran has just written the textbook of how-to-do asymmetric war. More >>
Reckless Complacency Meaning The End Of Nuclear Deterrence
Friday, 24 July 2026, 5:06 pm | Keith Rankin
Ukraine's behaviour can only be described as 'baiting the bear', and has clearly been backed by Nato, especially the E3 nations of Germany, France and the United Kingdom. More >>
Bending The Knee
Thursday, 23 July 2026, 12:04 pm | Keith Rankin
Should New Zealand be explicitly deferential towards India? It's a real question, especially in the context of geo-economics where certain alpha-politicians demand submission. More >>
Can Andy Burnham Overcome The War And Debt Bogeys?
Monday, 20 July 2026, 3:48 pm | Keith Rankin
Burnham does have a mandate to lead – and to change course – despite the unusual circumstances through which he has become Prime Minister. More >>
Retirement Age Labour In New Zealand
Thursday, 16 July 2026, 5:06 pm | Keith Rankin
The assumption is that 64-year-old men should be fulltime paid workers and that retired men should be 'out to pasture'. More >>
Narrative-Building Political Strategy; The Case Of Anti-Inflation Policy
Monday, 13 July 2026, 4:53 pm | Keith Rankin
Two such economic ailments are recession and inflation. Recessions – unless being aggravated by some exogenous problem – are part of a business cycle. More >>
Interest Rates: Is The NZ Economy Presently Overstimulated?
Thursday, 9 July 2026, 4:07 pm | Keith Rankin
Nobody can tell us what the 'neutral rate of (OCR) interest' is; though there is a clearly claimed claim that the neutral rate is above 2.5%. More >>
Growth Of New Zealand's Working Age Female Population
Wednesday, 8 July 2026, 3:38 pm | Keith Rankin
The number of people born in the early 1950s living in New Zealand has been boosted by net immigration, including New Zealand born people returning from overseas. More >>
Ponzi Schemes: Harmful Or Beneficial (or Both)?
Friday, 3 July 2026, 4:10 pm | Keith Rankin
The Ponzi entity fails when withdrawals exceed its ability to secure ongoing investments. Unusually large numbers of withdrawals can be called 'capital flight'. More >>
NZ Economic Growth Over The Medium Term
Thursday, 2 July 2026, 4:27 pm | Keith Rankin
Many policy positions these days are claims that New Zealand must make policy for the long term rather than for short-term "sugar hits". More >>
New Zealand Economy: Boom Or Bust In Early 2026?
Thursday, 25 June 2026, 4:51 pm | Keith Rankin
The most important measure of the international trading environment for a country – especially a country which relies on importing and exporting goods – is called the merchandise terms of trade. More >>
Jeffrey Sachs, An Inconvenient Intellectual Critic
Friday, 19 June 2026, 4:02 pm | Keith Rankin
Jeffrey Sachs and other intelligent and courageous people are trying to warn us. We should listen, and respond with reason rather than quasi-religious rhetoric about Good and Evil. More >>
New Zealand Economic Growth Update
Thursday, 18 June 2026, 4:20 pm | Keith Rankin
The two exceptions to this bounce-back generalisation are the two growth phases preceding the two National-led domestic fiscal crises. More >>
Modern Media As Unintended Propaganda
Wednesday, 17 June 2026, 5:18 pm | Keith Rankin
John Campbell wouldn't think that his style of journalism is propaganda; and he's probably not pushing his own personal agenda here. More >>
Truth, Accountability, And The Burden Of Proof
Thursday, 11 June 2026, 4:11 pm | Keith Rankin
Real 'practical world' truth and proof are in fact statistical concepts; they have an attached probability. More >>
Retrenchment Or Conjuring Trick?
Thursday, 21 May 2026, 4:01 pm | Keith Rankin
New Zealand's exports are booming, and have been for a while. But for New Zealand that's still far from enough; New Zealand needs a government spending circuit breaker as well. More >>
