chris.nixon

Chris has provided economic analysis, policy advice, and strategic advice to a host of private and public clients for the past 20 years at NZIER. His work spans a wide variety of microeconomic fields however, he specialises in environmental and agricultural economics, trade, and infrastructure and transport.

Chris is dedicated to providing clients with independent economic advice that can assist them in making crucial decisions about their future based on sound economic logic. In his long consulting career he has advised clients on wide variety of issues including environmental policy, structural issues in agriculture, economic growth, and numerous articles on trade issues, particularly Closer Economic Relations (CER).

Austrade and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise wanted to understand how they could more efficiently cooperate or compete in third markets. Chris set out the history of trans Tasman approaches to trade and detailed ways of thinking about how trans Tasman cooperation had developed. Chris developed a practical framework examining how the two organisations might compete or cooperate depending on the nature of the project.

The framework could be used to make both organisations more efficient in their third market activities.

The Ministry of Fisheries wanted an independent understanding of how economic development occurs and New Zealand’s experience of government interventions in the area. Chris detailed the recent history of interventions with specific reference to fisheries. The areas where the Ministry could potentially intervene were identified as were the types of interventions to be avoided.

The Ministry has a framework to understand where it can best intervene in the fisheries sector and how interventions should structured.

The Ministry for the Environment asked Chris, along with another contractor, to examine two questions: (1) who should be eligible to apply to be a Requiring Authority and (2) who should have the power to approve or reject a Notice of Requirement. Chris developed a cost benefit analysis framework to examine specified options after reviewing work already completed, interviewing stakeholders and reviewing submissions. Chris clearly showed the trade-offs required in each of the specified options developed.

The Ministry for Environment was able to go to the Minister with concrete advice in a difficult area of policy.

The Ministry of Economic Development employed Chris as quality assurance on its Food Innovation Cost Benefit proposal. Chris advised the consultants doing the cost benefit analysis on the strength of their intervention logic and suggested improvements in methodology. By undertaking the quality assurance Chris gave the Ministry confidence that the cost benefit analysis was carried in a way that met good practice standards.

The Ministry was confident, that in a specific instance, it could go to the Minister with strong rationale for intervention.