2023 Summer Reading List for the Prime Minister

New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (Inc)
Media release, 5 December 2023

For immediate release

Today, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER), in partnership with BusinessDesk, released its Summer Reading List for the Prime Minister for 2023.

NZIER Chief Executive Jason Shoebridge says, “The Institute supports New Zealanders taking time over summer to read and discuss important issues. The list was prepared as part of the Public Good Programme by NZIER, which undertakes economic research and thinking aimed at promoting a better understanding of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s important economic challenges.”

Selection panel chair Senior Economist Philippa Miller Moore says, “2023 has been a year where global and domestic disruption of the economy and society seems to be the new normal. How we make sense of disruption informs how we respond to change.” 

Fellow selection panel members included BusinessDesk journalist Dileepa Foneska and Director and Business Adviser Craig Stobo.

“The list recommends books we hope the Prime Minister, his advisers, and anyone interested in business and public policy will find both informative and enjoyable. 

Three Aotearoa/New Zealand authors feature in this year’s selection. 

NZIER’s Summer Reading List for the Prime Minister 2023:

• The English Version of the Treaty of Waitangi, Ned Fletcher, 2022
• State of Threat: The challenges to Aotearoa New Zealand’s national security, Edited by Wil Hoverd and Deidre Ann McDonald, 2023
• The China Tightrope, Navigating New Zealand’s relationship with a world superpower, Sam Sachdeva, 2023
• End State: 9 Ways Society is Broken & How we fix it, James Plunkett, 2021
• How Big Things Get Done:  The surprising factors that determine the fate of every project, from home renovations to space exploration and everything in between, Bent Flyvbjerg & Dan Gardner, 2023
• Age of Vice Deepti Kapoor, 2023

Read more about why each title was selected and its relevance to New Zealand 

For further information, please contact: 
Todd Krieble, 027 742 6415, todd.krieble@nzier.org.nz