How Can We Make Independent Public Policy Institutions a Less Fragile Species?

Reflecting on the closing of the Productivity Commission

Abstract

In late November 2023 the staff and commissioners of the New Zealand Productivity Commission Te Kōmihana Whai Hua o Aotearoa were shocked to learn that the newly elected coalition government would be abolishing the commission. It was disestablished just three months later, having functioned for 13 years. The commission’s primary task was to provide the government with independent policy advice, via inquiries requested by the government of the day. From an historical perspective, the commission’s closure was unfortunately par for the course. Few independent government institutions providing economic and social policy advice have survived even that long. This article explores the factors which contribute to these short lives, and the factors which contribute to the effectiveness of such institutions, and suggests ways in which they can be made less fragile.