Motu Research is an independent, public-good focused economics and policy research institute.

We help decision makers in Aotearoa grapple with complex social and environmental issues.

Emissions trading

Valuing forest ecosystem services in New Zealand

Working Paper

Society depends on services and benefits provided by ecosystems. Yet, many of our actions affect ecosystems in ways that undermine long-term human wellbeing. Although ecosystems provide many services to society, many of these services are…

Firm performance and labour dynamics

COVID-19 Wage Subsidy: Outcome Evaluation - Value for Money

Authors: Dave Maré | Caroline Fyfe | Phoebe Taptiklis

Working Paper

COVID hit us hard
Wage subsidies helped secure
Time in employment

We evaluated the value for money of the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Support programme (WSS) using…

2023-07-12

New guide released to help communities in Aotearoa New Zealand tackle major challenges

2023-06-15

Fighting cold, damp housing – a big tick for Warmer Kiwi programme

Motu Research evaluated the Government’s Warmer Kiwi Homes programme and found using heat pumps reduces electricity use by 16 percent…

2023-06-13

Research shows free speech benefits the poor the most

Recently published research (by Motu and VUW) analyses the types of people who benefit most from freedom of speech. The…

Our Research

Environment

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Urban & regional

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Wellbeing & macro-economics

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Population & labour

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Human rights

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Productivity & innovation

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August 7, 2023

Introducing 'A guide to just transitions for communities in Aotearoa NZ'

A guide to help communities confront the major disruptive challenges Aotearoa New Zealand is facing.

Recent events

July 6, 2023

Productivity in a Changing World

The Productivity Commission’s Philip Stevens and The Treasury's Matthew Galt provided an overview of trends in productivity and incomes in Aotearoa over recent decades, and the challenges and opportunities these trends present for our country.

March 27, 2023

Warmer Kiwis Study: cost-benefit analysis of heat pumps

Motu Research's Warmer Kiwis Study focused on the heat pump component of the EECA Warmer Kiwi Homes programme. We worked directly with a group of about 160 homeowners who received a grant for an efficient heater. We collected new data on health and wellbeing, the indoor environment in homes (including temperature and humidity), and electricity consumption to investigate the actual improvements achieved through EECA’s programme. The study began in 2021. This seminar presents the final results.

December 13, 2022

New data and evidence on the organisation of science - implications for diversity and innovation

This seminar looked at how we can use new types of data to understand the structure of research organisations – & bias against women and others in science.

Featured work

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Solutions for Freshwater Management

Urban water security: Assessing the impacts of metering and pricing in Aotearoa New Zealand

Authors: Julia Talbot-Jones | Thomas Benison

Working Paper

By combining a series of complementary data sets, we present some preliminary analysis that suggests metering and pricing does incentivise water conservation in Aotearoa. Given this, it is likely urban areas investing in, and using,…

Well-being and sustainability measures

Micro-geography and public tenant wellbeing

Working Paper

Britomart street social housing. Image credit: Studio Pacific Architecture & Andy Spain  Secure, qualitypublic housing tenanciesWellbeing is high The micro-geography of people’s wellbeing depends on house and neighbourhood characteristics. We show that the form of tenancy…

Individual and group outcomes

Expenditure patterns of New Zealand retiree households

Authors: Trinh Le | Euan Richardson

Working Paper

Couples spend more per capitabut have higher wellbeingthan singles in retirementRetirees spend lessespecially on non-necessitiesas they get older This research delves into expenditure patterns of retiree households in Aotearoa New Zealand. The findings will help inform the…

Firm performance and labour dynamics

COVID-19 Wage Subsidy: Outcome Evaluation - Value for Money

Authors: Dave Maré | Caroline Fyfe | Phoebe Taptiklis

Working Paper

COVID hit us hard Wage subsidies helped secure Time in employment We evaluated the value for money of the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Support programme (WSS) using cost-benefit analysis from a societal perspective, encompassing the New Zealand…

Firm performance and labour dynamics

COVID-19 Wage Subsidy: Outcome evaluation

Authors: Dave Maré | Dean Hyslop | Shannon Minehan

Working Paper

Wage Subsidy Schemekept firms and workers activeand softened the blow The COVID-19 pandemic has caused substantial disruption in social and economic activity since March 2020. The New Zealand Government reacted early, introducing stringent lockdowns to restrict…

Environmental modelling

Review of emissions data and modelling systems (Phase 1) Report

Authors: Niven Winchester | Dom White | Caroline Fyfe | Phoebe Taptiklis

Working Paper

This report reviews greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change mitigation data and models used in Aotearoa New Zealand. We make some recommendations on modelling capacity, data availability and accessibility and oversight/synthesis of the different…

Environment