Contributors

Bios of contributors

Arthur Prior A ‘Young Progressive’ Letters to Ursula Bethell and to Hugh Teague 1936-1941.

Arthur Prior is scarcely a household name in New Zealand, but in some respects his story repeats a narrative we like to think of as quintessentially Kiwi—that of the small town boy who ‘makes it’ on the world stage. Born and raised in the rural township of Masterton in 1914, Prior became a leading philosopher of the 20th century, feted for his invention of tense logic (or temporal logic as it is now called), invited by no less a figure than Gilbert Ryle to deliver the prestigious John Locke lectures in Oxford in 1956, offered a Chair in Philosophy at Manchester in 1958, then a Fellowship at Balliol College, Oxford, in 1966. Tragically, he died at the relatively young age of 54, but he remains one of the central figures in the development of logic in the 20th century

The Economy Really Does Matter

Brian Easton’s book Not in Narrow Seas: The Economic History of Aotearoa New Zealand was published by Victoria University Press in 2020. Rightly described as a magnum opus, the book attracted considerable attention for its extraordinary historical breadth and vision. Part of that attention was a panel discussion of the book hosted by the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, on 21 April 2021, as one of its continuing series of research seminars

Editor's Introduction

In the 2021 June issue of the Journal (NS 33), Anna Green announced that it was to be her final issue as editor, a role she took up in 2013. The December issue last year was a Special Issue with a particular focus on Pacific Research in Aotearoa, so it is appropriate to begin this open issue with an acknowledgement of Anna’s exceptional work as editor of what is the most significant journal of New Zealand studies.  Only those who have themselves edited a journal over any length of time fully appreciate the challenges of the task—the more so when it evolves from a print journal to one that is wholly online. Anna’s stewardship of the Journal through that time has been exemplary, and that it remains a strong and vibrant home for the publication of research in New Zealand studies is its own tribute to her energy and her scholarly care for the field. Readers of the Journal are very much in her debt

The public–private pension mix in OECD countries

This article surveys the relationship between public and private pension provision in the countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. OECD. Population ageing has led many OECD countries to undertake a wide range of pension reforms. The overall effect of these reforms has in many cases been to reduce public pension promises, often signficantly. This, in turn, has increased the role of private pensions, which have expanded significantly in a number of countries. The article discusses the extent to which a number of countries will need to further increase private provision in order to guarantee adequate future retirement incomes.pension; retirement

Timing it right or timing it wrong: How should income-tested benefits deal with changes in circumstances?

This article examines the challenges in designing income-tested benefits for people of working age. This is particularly difficult in the context of changing patterns of work and volatility in earnings and income. Matching benefits to needs requires timely assessment and payment. We compare the treatment of timing issues in the working-age welfare systems of the United Kingdom and Australia. The article discusses how these different but similar systems deal with the timing of income receipt and benefit adjustment, problems of overpayment and debt, and draws out some lessons for the design of income-tested provisions

Timing it right or timing it wrong: How should income-tested benefits deal with changes in circumstances?

This article examines the challenges in designing income-tested benefits for people of working age. This is particularly difficult in the context of changing patterns of work and volatility in earnings and income. Matching benefits to needs requires timely assessment and payment. We compare the treatment of timing issues in the working-age welfare systems of the United Kingdom and Australia. The article discusses how these different but similar systems deal with the timing of income receipt and benefit adjustment, problems of overpayment and debt, and draws out some lessons for the design of income-tested provisions