Dr Brian Easton is a leading independent scholar and commentator on contemporary New Zealand with skills in economics, social statistics, public policy and history. He has researched and written in a wide range of areas vital to an understanding of current issues,introducing frameworks which are foundational in contemporary public discussion and thinking. Brian has written over 30 books and monographs, including The Commercialisation of New Zealand, In Stormy Seas: The Post-war New Zealand Economy, The Whimpering of the State: Policy after MMP, The Nationbuilders, Globalisation and the Wealth of Nations and Heke Tangata: Maori in Markets and Cities. Between 1978 and 2014 he wrote around 900 columns for the New Zealand Listener and since 2014, 300 columns for the Pundit blog, as well as appearing with other media. A former Director of the NZ Institute of Economic Research, Brian has held teaching positions and research fellowships in various overseas and New Zealand universities. He is a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, a Distinguished Fellow of the New Zealand Economics Association and was NZIER-NBR Economist of the Year in 2009. Brian holds honorary positions in six universities including an adjunct professorship at Auckland University of Technology and a fellowship at the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies.