Motu Economic and Public Policy Research

Motu Economic and Public Policy Research is an independent economic and public policy research institute established in Wellington, New Zealand, in September 2000. It was created on the model of non-political research institutes in the United States that operate through grants, commissioned work, donations, and other forms of institutional support. Motu’s stated operating principle is independence from political parties and from any single ideological position, allowing it to conduct applied research for public agencies, private-sector organizations, philanthropic institutions, and the wider public. The organization operates as a registered charitable trust. Its funding model combines contract research commissioned by government departments and private companies with non-contract support, including endowments and donations from institutions and individuals. The associated Motu Research and Education Foundation provides a channel for additional philanthropic and educational support. This mixed funding structure is intended to support both commissioned policy analysis and longer-term research that may not have a single client. Motu’s research portfolio has covered major economic and policy questions in New Zealand and internationally. Its subject areas have included innovation and productivity, climate change, emissions trading, well-being, housing affordability, and the evaluation of public policy. The institute is particularly associated with evidence-based analysis of environmental and economic policy, including work relevant to greenhouse-gas mitigation and emissions markets. Its research has also addressed distributional and social questions, such as household well-being and housing costs. The institute has received recognition in research and policy rankings. RePEc has ranked it as New Zealand’s leading economics organization, while the International Center for Climate Governance ranked it as the top climate think tank in Oceania in 2015. These assessments reflect Motu’s visibility in economics and climate-policy research rather than a commercial product ranking. Motu also hosts the Human Rights Measurement Initiative, established in 2016. This work extends the organization’s public-policy role into the measurement and communication of human-rights outcomes. In January 2022, Motu produced an assessment of the New Zealand government’s Families Package, illustrating its role in evaluating major public programs and their likely effects on households. Motu’s primary outputs are research reports, policy evaluations, working papers, data-informed analysis, and public-facing research communication rather than consumer products. Its audiences include government ministries, policy professionals, researchers, civil-society organizations, businesses, funders, and members of the public. The organization’s positioning rests on analytical independence, applied economics, policy relevance, and the translation of research into evidence useful for decision-makers. As an institute rather than a mass-market brand, its reputation is built mainly through research quality, institutional partnerships, expert networks, and contribution to public debate.

Motu Economic and Public Policy Research was founded in September 2000 in Wellington, New Zealand. Its institutional model was influenced by independent, non-political research organizations in the United States that rely on a combination of grants, donations, and commissioned research rather than operating as government agencies or partisan think tanks. The initial trustees were Dr Grant Scobie, Sir Geoffrey Palmer, and Dr Ann Sullivan. From its formation, Motu was designed to maintain independence from political parties and to avoid expressing a fixed ideological position. Its role was to undertake rigorous economic and public policy research that could be used by public institutions, private organizations, researchers, and the general public. The institute’s legal structure as a registered charitable trust supports this public-interest orientation. Motu’s funding has come from a range of sources. Government departments and private companies have commissioned research under contract, while endowments and donations from public and private institutions and individuals have provided additional non-contract support. The associated Motu Research and Education Foundation has been connected with this broader funding and educational structure. The diversified model allows Motu to undertake both client-defined studies and research intended to contribute to longer-term public understanding. The institute’s research agenda has developed across several interconnected fields. Early and continuing areas include innovation and productivity, which examine the drivers of economic performance; climate change and emissions trading, which address environmental regulation and market-based mitigation; and well-being, which considers outcomes beyond conventional economic aggregates. Motu has also studied housing affordability, an important New Zealand policy issue involving household finances, land use, construction, and distributional effects. Climate-policy research became a particularly visible part of the organization’s profile. In 2015, the International Center for Climate Governance ranked Motu as the leading climate think tank in Oceania. RePEc has also identified Motu as New Zealand’s top economics organization. These external rankings indicate the institute’s standing in research networks, although they do not change its legal status as a charitable research trust. In 2016, Motu began hosting the Human Rights Measurement Initiative. The initiative’s work introduced a human-rights measurement dimension to Motu’s wider research and policy ecosystem, complementing its established work on economic, environmental, and social outcomes. Motu continued to produce applied assessments of government policy. In January 2022, it published an assessment of the New Zealand government’s Families Package. This work exemplifies the institute’s role in examining the likely effects and policy performance of public interventions rather than advocating a party-political position. Today, Motu is best understood as a research and policy-analysis institution rather than a conventional consumer-facing brand. Its outputs include research reports, evaluations, working papers, policy analysis, and public communication. Its institutional identity is based on independence, analytical credibility, New Zealand policy expertise, and engagement with international economic, climate, and human-rights research communities.

• 2022

  Families Package assessment is published

  [1]Motu Economic and Public Policy Researchen.wikipedia.org

  Motu produces an assessment of the New Zealand government’s Families Package in January.

• 2016

  Human Rights Measurement Initiative is established at Motu

  [1]Motu Economic and Public Policy Researchen.wikipedia.org

  Motu begins hosting the Human Rights Measurement Initiative, extending its policy-research activities into human-rights measurement.

• 2015

  Recognized as Oceania’s leading climate think tank

  [1]Motu Economic and Public Policy Researchen.wikipedia.org

  The International Center for Climate Governance ranks Motu as the top climate think tank in Oceania for 2015.

• 2000

  Motu is established in Wellington

  [1]Motu Economic and Public Policy Researchen.wikipedia.org

  Motu Economic and Public Policy Research is founded in September as an independent economic and public policy research institute. Grant Scobie, Geoffrey Palmer, and Ann Sullivan are identified as the initial trustees.

An independent, non-partisan New Zealand research institute providing applied economic and public policy analysis for governments, businesses, funders, researchers, and the public.

• Research publication · 2000

  Economic research reports

  Motu produces applied economic research addressing questions such as innovation, productivity, economic performance, and household outcomes. These reports are intended to inform public debate and institutional decision-making rather than serve as commercial products. Their audiences include government departments, companies, researchers, and the wider public.

• Environmental policy research

  Climate and emissions-policy research

  This body of work examines climate change, greenhouse-gas policy, and emissions trading. It forms one of Motu’s most visible areas of expertise and has contributed to the institute’s recognition in climate-policy rankings. The work connects economic analysis with questions of environmental regulation and policy design.

• Social and distributional policy research

  Well-being and housing affordability research

  Motu studies well-being and housing affordability as policy issues that extend beyond aggregate economic growth. This work considers how policy settings affect households and communities, including the distribution of resources and the pressures associated with housing costs.

• Human-rights measurement initiative · 2016

  Human Rights Measurement Initiative

  Hosted by Motu since its establishment in 2016, the Human Rights Measurement Initiative develops and communicates evidence about human-rights performance. It adds an internationally oriented human-rights measurement function to Motu’s economic and public-policy research environment.

• Policy evaluation · 2022

  Families Package assessment

  Published in January 2022, this assessment examined the New Zealand government’s Families Package. It represents Motu’s broader practice of evaluating public programs and presenting evidence relevant to policy design and household outcomes.

• 2016

  Host the Human Rights Measurement InitiativeOther

  Background

  The Human Rights Measurement Initiative was established as a project focused on measuring and communicating human-rights outcomes.

  Action taken

  Motu took on a hosting role for the initiative, extending its institutional scope beyond economics and environmental policy.

  Aftermath

  The initiative became part of Motu’s wider public-policy and research network.

  Source

• 2000

  Adopt an independent, non-political research modelStrategy

  Background

  Motu was established on the model of non-political research institutes funded through a mixture of grants, donations, and commissioned work.

  Action taken

  The institute was structured as a registered charitable trust and declared an objective of operating independently without an expressed political ideology or position.

  Aftermath

  This model shaped Motu’s identity as an evidence-focused research organization serving public, private, philanthropic, and academic audiences.

  Source

1. 1Motu Economic and Public Policy Researchen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Motu Economic and Public Policy Research official websitemotu.org.nz