Richard Meade

Dr Richard Meade is Principal Economist of Cognitus Economic Insight, which he founded in 2002 after an initial career in investment banking. Through Cognitus he provides micro-economic consulting and contract research services to corporate, government and Māori organisations, with particular focuses on antitrust/competition economics and industry regulation (especially for industries facing disruption by new technologies), environmental economics, non-market valuation, and institutional economics/governance. He also assists Māori and other legal claimants with expert economic evidence, particularly regarding the quantification of historical losses.

In addition to his Cognitus role, Richard is a Research Fellow at Auckland University of Technology, in Economics, and in Social Sciences & Public Policy. In this role he undertakes public good scholarly research in economics, social sciences and public policy, and occasional university lecturing (in industrial organisation, environmental economics, and corporate finance).

Richard's PhD research focused on how different types of ownership affect firm strategies, behaviour and incentives, mainly in utility sectors like electricity (but also banking). His scholarly and professional outputs include books, book chapters, journal articles, commissioned studies, working papers, conference presentations, and media appearances. He is also an occasional peer reviewer for various economics journals, and President of the Law & Economics Association of New Zealand (LEANZ).