An economist says political parties should look to give the Commerce Commission more firepower in an effort to boost competition and wages.It comes as unemployment hits an 11-year high, with around 171,000 New Zealanders out of work, and as Labour edged ahead again as the party most trusted to manage the economy according to the latest Ipsos Issues Monitor.Bagrie Economics' lead economist Cameron Bagrie told RNZ he didn't see any political party attempting to address the cost of living and low wages by creating more competition.He said the unemployment figures confirmed that the economy took a "detour" in the second quarter."We got the stuffing knocked out of us in the second quarter because of higher fuel prices" and the "numbers weren't flash", he said.He suggested competition policy was what was needed to fix both the cost of living crisis and the income crisis."Wages are low in New Zealand compared to overseas counterparts."He explained that if there's more competition across sectors, that drives down costs, and more competition across industries, that drives innovation and productivity growth."That's where you're addressing both crises."I don't see an awful lot of political parties out there at the moment connecting the two."Competition policy in New Zealand is too light touch."Bagrie says the economy is going through a significant transition, away from a model of immigration, tourism, and "selling more expensive houses to each other".RNZ / Samuel RillstoneBagrie thought the Commerce Commission needed "some guns" by making it independent, giving it a charter and a remit to "go really hard" in driving greater competitive settings.He suggested giving it a target of making inflation between 1 to 3 percent and giving it "full operational independence to go about that".He did think the economy was at a turning point though, a point that was hit about six months ago."The weight of economic evidence is pretty clearly showing that the economy is moving forward," he said, but that wouldn't be showing in the second quarter of data the latest figures refer to.Currently, he said unemployment was up, inflation was up and interest rates were moving up, so "economically, that's not what you call a great trifecta of any government that's looking to get re-elected".But he acknowledged the economy was going through a significant transition, away from a model of immigration, tourism, and "selling more expensive houses to each other".It was now built around business investment, productivity growth and natural resources, and just "doing things a little bit differently"."That economic transition does not happen overnight."He acknowledged things take time to deliver, "You've got to get infrastructure right. You've got to get the education system right. You've got to get research and development right."He also mentioned getting the banking system right, "because there's no point pumping money continually into the housing market"."You don't get fundamentally wealthier by selling more expensive houses to each other."