Economic & Market Analysis

Bringing clarity to complex problems

Our focus is to help our clients understand the issues and opportunities they are facing. We do this by providing robust and insightful economic analyses of complex issues.

We provide critical insight and expert advice in legal and regulatory proceedings, strategic decision-making, and public policy and competition analysis.

Our professionals are skilled in a wide range of research methods and analytical tools to provide evidence-based expert economic advice.

Our clients value the insights we offer from decades of practical experience working alongside regulators, governments and businesses.

What we do

We conduct sophisticated, bespoke analysis and modelling support.

Our experts provide our clients with the theoretical framework and evidential basis to support decision-making in a variety of contexts, including economic regulation and investment planning.

We routinely apply our economic skills in fields such as:

Regulatory economics and policy analysis, including economic impact, benchmarking, regulatory impact statements, cost-benefit and cost-utility analyses
Industry, market and competition analysis
Pricing, revenue and asset strategies
Project and programme investment analysis
Market monitoring.

Examples of some of our recent work in economic and market analysis:

Energy market reforms in Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Singapore
Use of economic instruments used for managing natural resources including water use
Design and application of revenue regulation of network industries, such as electricity, gas, rail, telecommunications and critical infrastructure such as air and sea ports
Cost-benefit analysis for public policy decision-making and regulatory approvals including resource consents
Principal-agent analysis and analysis of expected performance for purposes of interpreting contracts and estimating damages.

Our team includes leading economists and analysts, with expertise across a wide range of sectors. We thrive on solving complex problems, which means each project we do is tailored to our client and the circumstances.

If we don’t know the answer, we will use our extensive international connections to find someone who does.

The collective skill sets and experience of our experts mean that we can offer economic services with a truly independent perspective, beyond superficial or obvious conclusions.

Key contacts

Kieran Murray

Managing Director
WELLINGTON
kmurray@thinkSapere.com

Dr Richard Tooth

Director
SYDNEY
rtooth@thinkSapere.com

Dr Tom Love

Director
WELLINGTON
tlove@thinkSapere.com

David Graham

Managing Director
MELBOURNE
dgraham@thinkSapere.com

Preston Davies

Director
AUCKLAND
pdavies@thinkSapere.com

Dylan James

Principal
WELLINGTON
djames@thinkSapere.com

Corina Comendant

Senior Managing Economist
AUCKLAND
ccomendant@thinkSapere.com

Some of our recent articles of interest

The economic benefits of a circular economy in Auckland

Client: Sustainable Business Network

This report provides a view on the potential economic benefits of a more circular economy for Auckland. It has been commissioned by the Sustainable Business Network to inform its report on the circular economy opportunity for Auckland.

The emissions footprint of broadband in New Zealand

Client: Chorus

This paper provides a first assessment of the emissions footprint of the current New Zealand fibre network, with a focus on internet provision to households and small to medium-sized businesses.

Making New Zealand safer: regulating the engineering profession

Client: Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment

Sapere prepared a Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) and cost-benefit analysis (CBA) to support MBIE’s proposal for an occupational regulatory regime for engineers.

Infrastructure consenting for climate targets

Client: Te Waihanga / New Zealand Infrastructure Commission

This research models the impact on New Zealand’s emissions reduction targets if the current resource consenting system continues to delay decisions on infrastructure project consenting.

Māori Primary Health Care

Client: Wai 2575 Claimants

Sapere were asked by the claimants to respond to the Waitangi Tribunal’s recommendation that a methodology be developed to measure the degree of underfunding of Māori PHOs and providers.

Sizing of the backyard and micro-commercial egg production in Australia

Client: Australian Eggs

Which came first the chicken or the egg? We don’t have the answer to that, but we do know the size of backyard and micro-commercial egg production in Australia.

A chance to make clinical trials sustainable, effective, and equitable in Aotearoa New Zealand

Client: Liggins Institute University of Auckland

Sapere provided extensive analytical support to a consortium of researchers from the University of Auckland and the University of Otago on a Health Research Council (HRC) and Ministry of Health funded research project. The consortium was brought together to review Aotearoa New Zealand’s clinical trials activity and infrastructure.