Niven Winchester

Niven Winchester is passionate about using quantitative analysis to make the world a better place. He is an expert in climate policy analysis using computable general equilibrium models. Using these techniques, he has assisted governments in several countries to develop strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Professor Winchester built the Climate PoLicy ANlysis (C-PLAN) model used by the Climate Change Commission to provide policy advice for the New Zealand government.

Professor Winchester also has an interest in sports economics.

His research on sports ranking systems was the catalyst for the change to the bonus point system in The Rugby Championship and Super Rugby in 2016. His rugby prediction algorithm consistently outperforms bookmakers.

Previously, Niven was a Principal Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Senior Knowledge Expert at McKinsey & Company. He is currently co-editor of the Journal of Global Economic Analysis and a professor of economics at Auckland University of Technology.

You can listen to Niven speaking about rugby predictions and climate change on this Radio New Zealand segment.