How I know we’re Not in a Recession. (And when we’ll know if we are.)September 26, 2024By Byron Gangnes Try to tell people that we are not in a recession, and you will get a lot of pushback. After all, jobs are harder to come by, prices are high, and some people are struggling to finance credit card debt. Some households are feeling these effects, and those who are not may be… Read More
Governor Green Announces SNAP Rule Changes Following UHERO StudySeptember 23, 2024Governor Josh Green has announced that Hawai‘i will implement changes to its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), following recommendations from a UHERO study co-authored by UHERO Assistant Professor Dylan Moore and Nate Hix of the Hawai‘i Institute of Public Health. These changes are expected to provide an additional $45 million in benefits to struggling families… Read More
Carbon benefits through fallow agricultural land transitions: the case of multi-strata agroforestry in Hawai‘iSeptember 20, 2024There are growing efforts to incorporate agroforestry into ecosystem service incentive programs. Indigenous and other place-based multi-strata agroforestry systems are important conservation and agricultural strategies, yet their ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration benefits, have received little research attention. To fill this gap, we draw on interviews with agroforestry practitioners and ecosystem service modeling in Hawaiʻi… Read More
UHERO Forecast for the State of Hawaiʻi: Lagging Maui recovery, slower speed limit for Hawaii growthSeptember 20, 2024Hawaii’s economic outlook continues to be a story of two economies: a Maui economy that will only gradually recover from its post-wildfire downturn, and the other counties as a group, whose visitor industries will continue to operate at a high level, and whose macroeconomic conditions will remain broadly favorable. Hawaii's trend growth is now slower… Read More
The Maui Wildfire Exposure Study receives $2.3M from the State of HawaiʻiSeptember 4, 2024The MauiWES project co-led by UHERO's Ruben Juarez has received $2.3 million in funding from the State of Hawaiʻi. This funding will help MauiWES grow its participant base and establish a survivor registry. https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2024/09/03/state-additional-funding-maui-wes Read More
A Proposal for Real-Time Pricing Tariffs for Large Electricity CustomersAugust 27, 2024As Oahu’s electric grid transitions to clean energy, characterized by variable wind, solar, and storage resources, the marginal cost of electricity will become increasingly variable across time and location. Consequently, the value of using locational marginal prices (LMP) for customer billing and compensating distributed generation will increase significantly. This report outlines a proposal to implement… Read More
Rural Health Disparities in Hawai‘iAugust 25, 2024This report examines the health disparities between rural and non-rural areas in Hawai‘i, using data from the June 2023 UHERO Rapid Survey. While rural areas offer benefits like proximity to nature and strong community ties, they also face challenges such as reduced access to quality healthcare. Our analysis reveals significant health disparities, particularly among people… Read More
Which College Majors Pay the Most in Hawaiʻi and the US?August 22, 2024By Rachel Inafuku and Tim Halliday Despite recent discussions in the popular press, a college degree is well worth its investment. In a recent UHERO report, we demonstrated that the lifetime earnings of graduates from the University of Hawaiʻi (UH) with bachelor’s degrees were 27% higher than those of observationally similar people who exited UH… Read More
The Maui Wildfire Exposure Study receives a $1.4M grant from NIHAugust 6, 2024The Maui Wildfire Exposure Study (MauiWES) led by Ruben Juarez (UHERO) and Alika Maunakea (JABSOM) has received a $1.4 million grant from the NIH to help fund the research of the long term health and social impacts of the Maui wildfires. https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2024/08/06/nih-grant-maui-wes/ Read More
How Expanding Access to Preschool Can Benefit Hawaii’s FutureAugust 1, 2024By: Rachel Inafuku The State of Hawaii has identified a significant gap in preschool enrollment among its youngest learners. Of the 33,224 3- and 4-year olds in the state, only 55% are currently enrolled in preschool programs. While about 20% of families with children in this age group choose to opt out of preschool, there… Read More
Why Not Just Tax Them? A Middle Ground on Addressing Short-Term RentalsJuly 29, 2024By Dylan Moore Maui is at a crossroads, grappling with a severe housing crisis exacerbated by last year's wildfires. In response, Mayor Richard Bissen has proposed a ban on short-term rentals (STRs) in the hopes of converting the approximately 6172 homes on Maui that are currently used as STRs into long-term housing. While this plan… Read More
UHERO welcomes Trey GordnerJuly 3, 2024We are pleased to welcome Trey Gordner, who joined UHERO in June as a Policy Researcher/Data Scientist and was recently named a Lincoln Institute Vibrant Communities Fellow. Trey's research will focus primarily on housing affordability and Maui wildfire recovery. Most recently, Trey directed the Hawaii Zoning Atlas--a statewide data advocacy project seeking to reduce the… Read More
Potential opportunities to diversify the economy of Hawai‘iJuly 2, 2024Read the summary blog post. The economy of Hawai‘i is extraordinarily concentrated in the tourism industry. As a result of tourism’s dominance, Hawai‘i’s economy faces short-term risks from shocks that impact visitor numbers and long-term stagnation from flat and volatile tourism spending over the last three decades. In response to these issues—which became especially salient… Read More
Potential opportunities to diversify the economy of HawaiʻiJuly 2, 2024Read the full report By: Steven Bond-Smith and Sumit Ilamkar The economy of Hawaiʻi is extraordinarily concentrated in the tourism industry. As a result of tourism’s dominance, Hawaiʻi's economy faces short-term risks from shocks that impact visitor numbers and long-term stagnation from flat and volatile tourism spending over the last three decades. In response to… Read More
How I know we’re Not in a Recession. (And when we’ll know if we are.) September 26, 2024 By Byron Gangnes Try to tell people that we are not in a recession, and you will get a lot of pushback. After all, jobs are harder to come by, prices are high, and some people are struggling to finance credit card debt. Some households are feeling these effects, and those who are not may be… Read More
Governor Green Announces SNAP Rule Changes Following UHERO Study September 23, 2024 Governor Josh Green has announced that Hawai‘i will implement changes to its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), following recommendations from a UHERO study co-authored by UHERO Assistant Professor Dylan Moore and Nate Hix of the Hawai‘i Institute of Public Health. These changes are expected to provide an additional $45 million in benefits to struggling families… Read More
Hawaiʻi’s Unnecessary Benefit Cliff: How One Small Policy Change Could Deliver Tens of Millions in Federally-Funded SNAP Benefits September 23, 2024 By Dylan Moore and Nate Hix (Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute) In Hawaiʻi, as in other states, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—otherwise known as food stamps—is one of the largest welfare programs available to low-income residents. Currently, a family of four can receive as much as $1,759/month in SNAP benefits. In a typical month, the… Read More
Carbon benefits through fallow agricultural land transitions: the case of multi-strata agroforestry in Hawai‘i September 20, 2024 There are growing efforts to incorporate agroforestry into ecosystem service incentive programs. Indigenous and other place-based multi-strata agroforestry systems are important conservation and agricultural strategies, yet their ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration benefits, have received little research attention. To fill this gap, we draw on interviews with agroforestry practitioners and ecosystem service modeling in Hawaiʻi… Read More
UHERO Forecast for the State of Hawaiʻi: Lagging Maui recovery, slower speed limit for Hawaii growth September 20, 2024 Hawaii’s economic outlook continues to be a story of two economies: a Maui economy that will only gradually recover from its post-wildfire downturn, and the other counties as a group, whose visitor industries will continue to operate at a high level, and whose macroeconomic conditions will remain broadly favorable. Hawaii's trend growth is now slower… Read More
The Maui Wildfire Exposure Study receives $2.3M from the State of Hawaiʻi September 4, 2024 The MauiWES project co-led by UHERO's Ruben Juarez has received $2.3 million in funding from the State of Hawaiʻi. This funding will help MauiWES grow its participant base and establish a survivor registry. https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2024/09/03/state-additional-funding-maui-wes Read More
A Proposal for Real-Time Pricing Tariffs for Large Electricity Customers August 27, 2024 As Oahu’s electric grid transitions to clean energy, characterized by variable wind, solar, and storage resources, the marginal cost of electricity will become increasingly variable across time and location. Consequently, the value of using locational marginal prices (LMP) for customer billing and compensating distributed generation will increase significantly. This report outlines a proposal to implement… Read More
Rural Health Disparities in Hawai‘i August 25, 2024 This report examines the health disparities between rural and non-rural areas in Hawai‘i, using data from the June 2023 UHERO Rapid Survey. While rural areas offer benefits like proximity to nature and strong community ties, they also face challenges such as reduced access to quality healthcare. Our analysis reveals significant health disparities, particularly among people… Read More
Which College Majors Pay the Most in Hawaiʻi and the US? August 22, 2024 By Rachel Inafuku and Tim Halliday Despite recent discussions in the popular press, a college degree is well worth its investment. In a recent UHERO report, we demonstrated that the lifetime earnings of graduates from the University of Hawaiʻi (UH) with bachelor’s degrees were 27% higher than those of observationally similar people who exited UH… Read More
The Maui Wildfire Exposure Study receives a $1.4M grant from NIH August 6, 2024 The Maui Wildfire Exposure Study (MauiWES) led by Ruben Juarez (UHERO) and Alika Maunakea (JABSOM) has received a $1.4 million grant from the NIH to help fund the research of the long term health and social impacts of the Maui wildfires. https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2024/08/06/nih-grant-maui-wes/ Read More
How Expanding Access to Preschool Can Benefit Hawaii’s Future August 1, 2024 By: Rachel Inafuku The State of Hawaii has identified a significant gap in preschool enrollment among its youngest learners. Of the 33,224 3- and 4-year olds in the state, only 55% are currently enrolled in preschool programs. While about 20% of families with children in this age group choose to opt out of preschool, there… Read More
Why Not Just Tax Them? A Middle Ground on Addressing Short-Term Rentals July 29, 2024 By Dylan Moore Maui is at a crossroads, grappling with a severe housing crisis exacerbated by last year's wildfires. In response, Mayor Richard Bissen has proposed a ban on short-term rentals (STRs) in the hopes of converting the approximately 6172 homes on Maui that are currently used as STRs into long-term housing. While this plan… Read More
UHERO welcomes Trey Gordner July 3, 2024 We are pleased to welcome Trey Gordner, who joined UHERO in June as a Policy Researcher/Data Scientist and was recently named a Lincoln Institute Vibrant Communities Fellow. Trey's research will focus primarily on housing affordability and Maui wildfire recovery. Most recently, Trey directed the Hawaii Zoning Atlas--a statewide data advocacy project seeking to reduce the… Read More
Potential opportunities to diversify the economy of Hawai‘i July 2, 2024 Read the summary blog post. The economy of Hawai‘i is extraordinarily concentrated in the tourism industry. As a result of tourism’s dominance, Hawai‘i’s economy faces short-term risks from shocks that impact visitor numbers and long-term stagnation from flat and volatile tourism spending over the last three decades. In response to these issues—which became especially salient… Read More