Chief economist appointed – meet Kevin Counsell

We are excited to welcome Kevin Counsell as our new chief economist. 

The chief economist will be responsible for developing and overseeing our long-term strategy to deliver high quality regulatory economic analysis to the Ministry and Minister for Regulation and provide an informed and insightful regulatory economics perspective to our work.  

Kevin is looking forward to starting his new role. “I've undertaken economic analysis of New Zealand's regulatory systems throughout my career, so it was fantastic to see the Ministry for Regulation set up with a goal of improving the quality and functioning of those systems.  I'm passionate about providing rigorous conceptual and empirical economic analysis and am excited to help bring this through in the Ministry's work," he says. 

Representing the Ministry on regulatory economic issues in public forums and industry events, Kevin will be responsible for building and maintaining relationships within New Zealand and internationally, to ensure the Ministry is fully informed of broader regulatory trends and impacts. 

Kevin brings extensive experience in economic consulting and regulatory policy to his role at the Ministry. As a former director at NERA Economic Consulting, he specialised in regulatory, competition, urban, environmental, and welfare economics. His expertise was demonstrated through economic analysis, report writing, and expert testimony before courts and hearings panels.

Through his membership in key advisory groups, Kevin has made significant contributions to policy development. He served on the Resource Management Expert Advisory Group, providing strategic guidance on resource management reform, and the Housing Expert Advisory Group, offering expertise on housing policy initiatives.

We look forward to welcoming Kevin to the Ministry from Tuesday 4 February 2025.