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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 14]
Keith Rankin: Understanding the Great Depression of the 30s
Wednesday, 21 December 2011, 4:11 pm | Keith Rankin
At a time when the likelihood of a global crisis of the magnitude of the 1930s' Great Depression is significantly raised, we remain stoically ignorant of the underlying causes of that event, and of the eventual recovery. More >>
Keith Rankin: The Global Debt Crisis
Tuesday, 20 December 2011, 12:35 pm | Keith Rankin
The global debt crisis, presently centred on Europe, has world political and intellectual leaders baffled. The problem is a shared mindset which treats economies (buying and selling goods and services) and finance (buying and selling assets that serve as ... More >>
Keith Rankin: Plausible Election Outcomes - A Numbers Game
Wednesday, 23 November 2011, 11:28 am | Keith Rankin
Keith Rankin writes: Election outcomes are determined by numbers, whatever the voting system. And the numbers in NZ this Saturday may well force a governing arrangement between National and Green, not unlike the present coalition govt in the United Kingdom. More >>
Deal-Making is not MMP's Achilles Heel - Keith Rankin
Tuesday, 15 November 2011, 10:45 am | Keith Rankin
One of the interesting ironies of this election campaign is that a deal between two allied parties, National and (New) Act, seems to be harming the reputation of the MMP voting system. It is mainly National and Act supporters who oppose MMP, knowing ... More >>
Keith Rankin On MMP Referendum & Using The Second Vote
Friday, 4 November 2011, 10:42 am | Keith Rankin
Website www.electionresults.co.nz (run by iPredict) suggests that there is a 10 percent chance that a majority of voters will opt for change in this month's referendum on our voting system. So it's plausible that the result of the second question, about ... More >>
Unemployment as a Game of Musical Chairs
Thursday, 3 November 2011, 10:34 am | Keith Rankin
So many politicians and commentators believe that the only limit to employment is the willingness of persons to work. Thus the Great Depression was really the Great Vacation, and every now and again (especially after global financial crises) a significant ... More >>
Employing Young People
Friday, 19 August 2011, 9:49 am | Keith Rankin
There are two very different views about the labour market. Some people believe that there's no upper limit to the amount of jobs in an economy, and that unemployment is due to over-pricing in the labour market. These people believe that welfare payments ... More >>
Keith Rankin On The Global Balance Sheet Recession
Thursday, 28 July 2011, 9:18 am | Keith Rankin
The world economy is at present at a significantly greater risk of a 1930s' style collapse than at any time since the Great Depression of that era. While I'm optimistic enough to believe that it won't happen this or next year, despite the heightened ... More >>
Exploring The 2011 Referendum on New Zealand's Voting System
Friday, 15 July 2011, 9:51 am | Keith Rankin
Analysis: Keith Rankin writes that the referendum accompanying the 2011 general election should be understood as a decision between two broad choices: a 'multi-party proportional representation' versus a 'two-party, winner bonus' system. MMP (mixed member proportional) ... More >>
Political Picks: 2011 Election Scenario
Tuesday, 31 May 2011, 10:44 am | Keith Rankin
Keith Rank predicts a National-led Govt will win the election, but only just. He writes: The Horizon poll of 24 May however suggests the five opposition parties have a four percentage point lead over the four parties that comprise the present government. More >>
Debt Crises in Context
Wednesday, 18 May 2011, 4:25 pm | Keith Rankin
Keith Rankin writes: Much in the economic world seems paradoxical. Certainly people and governments around the world are under pressure to, simultaneously, both spend more and save more. Yet we don't feel under pressure to lend more, even though "lending" ... More >>
Keith Rankin: Funding Earthquakes and other Projects
Wednesday, 11 May 2011, 9:39 am | Keith Rankin
In popular sentiment, economies and economics are all about money. This is not so. Economies are about the flows of goods and services, and the allocation of the resources that are required to produce the goods and services that people want. More >>
Keith Rankin: Jobless Recovery
Friday, 4 February 2011, 4:38 pm | Keith Rankin
With the release of the October-December unemployment figures on 2 February, there is renewed talk of a "jobless recovery", as a kind of paradox. References to 'jobless recovery' include: " Latest unemployment stats show risk of a jobless recovery " ... More >>
Where does the money come from?
Wednesday, 2 February 2011, 3:28 pm | Keith Rankin
On a number of occasions since his state of the nation speech promising to make the first $5,000 of earnings tax free, Phil Goff has been asked "Where will the money come from?", and as always it's a hard question for a politician to answer, and an ... More >>
Celebrating Our Public Holidays
Tuesday, 1 February 2011, 1:34 pm | Keith Rankin
Upon the belated realisation that in 2011, as in 2010, Monday-Friday workers get 9 instead of the usual 11 public holidays, Labour has promised to 'Mondayise' Waitangi Day and Anzac Day. [Refer Scoop (28 Jan) Labour will protect everyone's holidays ... More >>
Keith Rankin: Taxes and Benefits for Families
Thursday, 1 April 2010, 5:03 pm | Keith Rankin
On March 8 Scoop published my article Taxes and Benefits for Individuals: Current State and Reform Options , which looks at taxes and benefits for individual New Zealand wage and salary earners, as their earnings vary. In this article, I apply the same ... More >>
Keith Rankin: Tax Reform in Pictures
Wednesday, 17 March 2010, 1:18 pm | Keith Rankin
On 8 February and 8 March I published a number of tables that show, for individual taxpayers, average and marginal tax rates for: the status quo; conservative reform options that recognise the comparatively high rates of tax that low income that New ... More >>
Keith Rankin: Taxes and Benefits for Individuals
Monday, 8 March 2010, 12:25 pm | Keith Rankin
On Feb 8 Scoop published my article Personal Income Tax Reform in New Zealand , which looks at taxes for individual New Zealand wage and salary earning tax residents. More >>
Tax Principles - A Need for Public Dialogue
Friday, 19 February 2010, 1:53 pm | Keith Rankin
One of our problems in policy debate about many issues - taxation is but one - is the lack of reference to the principles that can give structure to our opinions. In the absence of reference to principles, opinions about policy matters such as ... More >>
Response to the Prime Minister's Tax Announcement
Wednesday, 10 February 2010, 1:23 pm | Keith Rankin
Yesterday's tax announcement has disturbing implications for democracy in New Zealand. This government was elected in 2008 - despite concerns that it might have a hidden agenda - on the promise of a programme of tax cuts that would mainly benefit middle ... More >>
