BERL (Business and Economic Research Ltd)
1. Business / Trading Name: Business and Economic Research Limited (trading as BERL).
2. Company Number: 11961.
3. New Zealand Business Number (NZBN): 9429040933863.
4. Entity Type: New Zealand Limited Company (private company).
5. Business Classification: Economic research and policy analysis consultancy (Professional, Scientific & Technical Services). (The official ANZSIC industry code describes the business as an economic research service.)
6. Industry Category: Research Services (economic and business research).
7. Year Founded: 1957 (incorporated on 24 May 1959 ). BERL was founded in late 1957 by economist Bryan Philpott, Reserve Bank staffer Hew Walls, and newspaper editor Norman Macbeth.
8. Addresses: Registered Office: Level 4, 99 Customhouse Quay, Wellington 6011, New Zealand. Postal Address: PO Box 10-277, Wellington 6143, New Zealand. (Former physical address until 2001: 108 The Terrace, Wellington.)
9. Website URL:
https://www.berl.co.nz
.
10. LinkedIn URL: https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-and-economic-research-limited-berl-.
11. Company Hub NZ URL: https://www.companyhub.nz/company?nzbn=9429040933863. (CompanyHub listing shows registration details such as company number, NZBN, and status).
12. NZ Companies Office URL: https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/11961. (New Zealand Companies Office registry entry confirming BERL’s incorporation and status – Data verified via companies register).
13. Social Media URLs: Twitter – Data Not Found (no official Twitter identified); Facebook – Data Not Found; YouTube – Data Not Found. (BERL’s primary social media presence is on LinkedIn.)
14. Ultimate Holding Company: None. (BERL is not part of any corporate group and has no ultimate holding company – it is a fully independent company.)
15. Key Shareholders: Hillmarè Schulze – 100% shareholding. (Schulze, the Chief Economist, became sole owner by 2021, acquiring the shares previously held by others.) Former shareholders (now exited) included Dr. Ganesh Nana and Kelvin T. Sanderson, who were long-time owners/directors until they sold or transferred their shares in early 2021. All 135,197 shares are now held by Hillmarè Schulze.
16. Leadership: Amanda Reid – Chief Executive Officer (CEO) / Tumu Whakarae. Hillmarè Schulze – Director and Chief Economist. (Schulze is also the sole director on record and owner of the company.) Dr. Ganesh Nana – former Executive Director and Chief Economist (stepped down in 2021).
17. Staff: Approximately 40 employees (economists and consultants). (BERL is a mid-sized consultancy with 11–50 staff according to LinkedIn, and around 40 staff profiles are listed on LinkedIn.) BERL’s team includes economists, researchers, and policy analysts across its Wellington office.
18. Staff That Have Held Previous Government Roles: Hillmarè Schulze – previously an economist at Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry of Māori Development) and the Department of Labour. Dr. Ganesh Nana – appointed Chair of the NZ Productivity Commission in 2020 (a government role) after his time at BERL. Other staff and directors have included former public sector economists: e.g. BERL director Robin Hapi was a senior public sector leader (including roles in Māori economic development), and economist Dennis Rose had served in government and academia (Treasury/Reserve Bank economist) prior to BERL. (These prior government roles suggest BERL staff often move between public service and the private sector.)
19. Past Employees: Dr. Ganesh Nana – economist at BERL from 1998, Chief Economist and Executive Director until 2021. Kelvin Thomas “Kel” Sanderson – long-time BERL director (1992–2018) and economist who led the firm through the 1990s and 2000s. Bryan Philpott – founding economist (1957) who later had a distinguished academic career. Adolf Stroombergen – Senior Economist (a well-known BERL economist in the 1990s). Robin Hapi – Director (2010–2015), a prominent Māori sector leader. Paul Frater and Allan Catt – economists and past directors in the 1990s. (These individuals were influential in BERL’s history; many have moved on to roles in academia, government advisory positions, or retirement.)
20. Clients: Government agencies (e.g. Ministry of Health, ACC, MBIE, Te Puni Kōkiri, The Treasury) – BERL frequently performs commissioned research for central government. Local government – BERL provides economic forecasts and analysis for councils and Local Government NZ. Māori organisations – e.g. work for iwi, Māori trusts, and the Federation of Māori Authorities. Industry associations – e.g. New Zealand Aged Care Association (annual sector reports), possibly BusinessNZ and others. Businesses and banks – e.g. Westpac NZ (Māori economy reports). Non-profits/NGOs – e.g. WWF-NZ (environmental impact studies), Housing Foundation (social housing impact). (BERL’s client base is broad, ranging from government and public sector to private industry groups and community organisations.)
21. Industries/Sectors Represented: BERL’s work spans many sectors. It has significant involvement in the Māori economy (indigenous economic development), local government sector (infrastructure and cost forecasting), health and social care (aged care, health sector analysis), environmental sector (conservation and resource management economics), housing and social policy (housing affordability, welfare analysis), education and skills (labour market and training economics), and regional development (economic impact of regional initiatives). The consultancy does not advocate for a single industry; instead it provides research used by a range of sectors to influence policy and decision-makers.
22. Publicly Disclosed Engagements: BERL staff and research frequently feature in public policy processes. Parliamentary submissions and panels: Dr. Ganesh Nana served on the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (2018–2019) advising the government on social welfare reform. BERL’s Chief Economist (Schulze) has appeared at conferences (e.g. Institute of Directors panels) discussing economic reports with government officials. BERL often publishes public reports (e.g. Te Ōhanga Māori reports) in partnership with MBIE, which are launched with government support. Its economists are called upon by Parliamentary select committees or working groups on occasion (for example, BERL’s analysis of industry issues like the alcohol harm study was cited in parliamentary debates on alcohol law reform). However, BERL is not a registered lobbyist and does not appear on any official lobbying disclosure – its engagements are usually via commissioned reports or expert advisory roles rather than direct lobbying registrations.
23. Affiliations: BERL is an institutional member of the professional economics community in New Zealand. It has a longstanding partnership with the Federation of Māori Authorities (FOMA), acting as a preferred provider of economic advice to FOMA and collaborating on Māori economic development projects. BERL’s economists are members of the New Zealand Association of Economists (NZAE) – for example, BERL staff regularly present at NZAE conferences. BERL has informal affiliations through joint projects with universities (e.g. it utilizes academic peer review for some studies) and with public sector bodies (being commissioned by ministries). It is also connected with think-tanks and public policy forum. (These affiliations enhance BERL’s credibility but also embed it within networks of influence in policy circles.)
24. Sponsorships / Collaborations: BERL actively supports and partners with various organisations in a sponsorship or pro-bono capacity. Notably, BERL sponsors several arts and cultural events: it partners with Tāwhiri (the NZ Festival and Wellington Jazz Festival organiser) since 2012, providing economic impact analysis for their events. It has partnered with the Taranaki Arts Festival Trust (TAFT) since 2010, producing annual economic impact assessments for festivals like WOMAD and the Garden Festival. In 2024 BERL became a partner of the Royal New Zealand Ballet, helping them evaluate their economic and social impact. In 2025 BERL joined with the Creative Capital Arts Trust (which runs the Wellington Fringe Festival and CubaDupa) to provide data analysis for their events. BERL also has a long-running collaboration with Wellington City Mission – it provides the Mission with research input for funding applications and supports them through volunteering and donations. These sponsorships and collaborations reflect BERL’s public-minded ethos but also serve to expand its influence into community and cultural sectors.
25. Events (Organised by BERL): BERL does not regularly hold public conferences under its own brand, but it occasionally hosts client seminars and report launches. In October 2017, BERL held a 60th anniversary event in Wellington to celebrate 60 years in business. This event gathered government officials, clients and stakeholders to mark BERL’s contributions since 1957. BERL economists also conduct webinars or workshops in collaboration with others (for example, BERL’s CEO and staff have hosted breakout sessions at the Wellbeing Economy Alliance conference in NZ ). Historically, BERL produced regular economic forecast publications (the “BERL Forecasts” or “Trends” reports) and would hold briefings for subscribers, though these were not open public events. In summary, BERL’s own events are limited; it more often contributes speakers to other organisations’ events or co-hosts sessions rather than running large standalone conferences.
26. Political Donations: Data Not Found. There is no record of any political donations made by Business and Economic Research Ltd or its staff in New Zealand’s Electoral Commission donation returns. BERL, as a research firm, maintains a non-partisan stance and does not appear to financially support political parties. (No donations from BERL were disclosed in official databases of party donations, and a targeted search yielded no results.)
27. Controversies: BERL has faced scrutiny over the impartiality and accuracy of some of its commissioned research. A prominent controversy was the 2009 BERL report on the social costs of alcohol and drugs, commissioned by government agencies, which estimated alcohol abuse cost NZ $4.8 billion per year. This report was sharply criticized by independent economists (and the ACT Party) for alleged overestimation and methodological flaws. Economists Eric Crampton and Matt Burgess published a critique accusing BERL of including “internal costs” (private costs) as social costs, thereby greatly exaggerating the harm figure. The dispute became public, with media and blog coverage pointing out errors in the BERL study and raising questions about its influence on policy. BERL stood by its work but the controversy highlighted how interest groups (in this case, public health agencies) could use BERL’s analysis to push for stricter alcohol regulation – critics labeled the report as biased or “politically convenient”. Another area of controversy is transparency: As a private consultancy, BERL is not required to disclose its clients, which has led to criticism about unseen influence. For example, BERL’s economic reports for the Aged Care Association support that sector’s lobbying for more funding – yet these reports might appear as neutral research in public debate. Critics argue this blurs the line between independent analysis and advocacy. Additionally, when BERL’s Chief Economist Ganesh Nana was appointed to lead the Productivity Commission, some in the business community questioned if his background (and BERL’s generally pro-public sector stance) would bias the Commission’s work. (Nana was later controversially not reappointed in 2023 after a change of government, amid suggestions the Commission under his watch was less aligned with the new government’s economic direction.) Overall, while BERL is respected, it has occasionally attracted controversy whenever its research is perceived as supporting a particular policy agenda or when errors in its analysis are alleged.
28. Other Information of Note: BERL is one of New Zealand’s oldest economic consultancies, distinguished by its longevity and focus on public-interest economics. It positions itself as a values-driven organisation – for instance, BERL is an accredited Living Wage Employer (committed to paying staff and contractors a living wage). The firm emphasizes kaupapa (principles) such as community wellbeing and future generations in its mission. BERL’s current leadership represents a shift to a more diverse, female-led organisation (Hillmarè Schulze and Amanda Reid are among the few women at the helm of an NZ economic consulting firm). In 2020, Dr. Ganesh Nana’s appointment as Chair of the Productivity Commission brought BERL into the spotlight, as it meant a BERL principal was influencing national economic policy from inside the government – an unusual trajectory that underscored the blurred lines between independent economic research and policy-making. BERL has also contributed to public economic literacy; its staff often appear in media to comment on economic issues (e.g. BERL economists frequently provide budget commentary on Radio NZ and other outlets). Historically, BERL’s “Trends” and later “BERL Forecasts” publications were widely read by businesses and policymakers in the latter 20th century, contributing to economic discussions (BERL’s early forecasts in 1957 correctly warned of an impending economic downturn and budget deficit, cementing its reputation in its first year). Finally, BERL’s name itself became synonymous with economic consulting in NZ – such that “the BERL report” is a phrase occasionally heard in Parliament or industry debates referring to an economic impact study. Despite being a private firm, its work is often treated akin to that of a think-tank or public research institution.
29. Recipient of Wage Subsidy Scheme: Data Not Found. BERL does not appear on the official list of employers that received the COVID-19 wage subsidy in 2020–2021. Public records from the Ministry of Social Development and Integrity Institute analyses do not list Business and Economic Research Ltd among subsidy recipients. This suggests BERL did not apply for or receive wage subsidies during the COVID-19 lockdowns, or it repaid any subsidy and was removed from the database. (Many professional services firms continued operations remotely and may not have met the revenue-drop threshold for the wage subsidy.) In BERL’s case, no government subsidy income is disclosed publicly.
Spot anything in this entry that is wrong? Please either leave a comment at the end or email, in confidence: bryce@democracyproject.nz