Economics, and mātauranga Māori.
Matatihi is the practice behind Whakapapa Economics — economists who work in two knowledge systems at once.
PhD economists
A team of doctoral-level economists and researchers. The analytical depth a single headline number cannot fake.
Two knowledge systems
We work natively in mātauranga Māori and applied economics at once. Weaving the two is our deepest innovation, and our edge.
Internationally published
Peer-reviewed work in journals including Marine Policy, Ecological Indicators and Business Strategy and the Environment.
We build the tools
Custom modelling systems and large value libraries, with analysis drawing on IDI data extracts of 186 million rows.
Our work is peer-reviewed and internationally published — across applied economics, sustainability measurement, and the Māori economy.
- Prioritising sustainability indicators: using materiality analysis to guide sustainability assessment and strategy — Business Strategy and the Environment (2017). Measurement rigour: how to decide what value actually counts.
- Improving the adoption of agricultural sustainability tools: a comparative analysis — Ecological Indicators (2020). Making measurement tools usable in the real world.
- Indigenising the blue economy in Aotearoa New Zealand — Marine Policy (2024). Mātauranga Māori woven into applied economics, peer-reviewed.
- Tauututu: White Paper — Reid, Rout & Whitehead (2019). The economic thinking behind tauutuutu, a documented root of the discipline.
- Economics and Financing of Housing for Māori: Literature Review — Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities National Science Challenge (2019). Applied economics in a Māori context.
- How to indigenise the blue economy in Aotearoa New Zealand — Kōtuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online (2025). The fusion, still active and in print.
Dr Jay Whitehead
Ōraka Aparima · Ngāi Tahu · Kāti MāmoeFounder, Applied Economist
Jay uses economic tools to reveal the value that standard metrics miss, in people and in the environment. His research has been used by organisations across Aotearoa to attract funding and guide investment. He has worked in the public sector, the private sector, and universities, and founded Matatihi to support intergenerational wellbeing. He developed and stewards Whakapapa Economics.
Dr Simon Duff
Senior Economist
Simon draws on qualitative and quantitative methods to make the social value organisations create more visible, supporting informed decision-making and investment. He has worked across academic, non-profit, and private sectors, on projects spanning healthcare, community and social support services, and agriculture.
Corey Ruha
Te Arawa · Tainui · MātaatuaSenior Data Analyst — Kaupapa Māori Research & Data Sovereignty
Corey uses data to uphold kaupapa Māori and support tino rangatiratanga of whānau, hapū and iwi. His work spans kaupapa Māori research, data sovereignty, and analytics that strengthen the relationship between people and place. Whether through dashboards, datasets, or pūrākau, Corey works to make data meaningful and mana-enhancing.
Dr Matt Rout
Research Lead — Socio-Political Development Specialist
Matt has a PhD in political science and is a Senior Research Fellow at the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre, University of Canterbury. His work focuses on economic development within social and environmental thresholds, using insights from ontology, epistemology and deep historical perspectives to guide contemporary strategy and policy.
Jeremy Gray
Digital Strategist & AI Specialist
Jeremy is a growth specialist with over two decades of global experience helping digital-first organisations scale. His expertise covers product-market fit, performance marketing, AI integration, and business intelligence, for businesses in NZ, Australia, the US, and the UK. With Matatihi, he co-developed the MCDA platform Mindstake.
Professor John Reid
Ngāti Pikiao · TainuiSystems Specialist
John leads research and development programmes in environmental monitoring, sustainable enterprise development, and tribal economies, including national research programmes that bring together science, industry, and indigenous communities. He serves on several private and public boards and is an associate editor of the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand.
Assoc. Professor Peter Tait
Environmental Economics
Peter is an applied environmental economist focused on non-market valuation for public policy. He develops and applies choice experiment methodologies to issues including water quality, biosecurity, native biodiversity, and food production. His research is used by local, regional and national policy makers and industry groups.
Get in touch
Start with a conversation.
The first kōrero is free, with no preparation needed. Tell us what you are working on and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.
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