Time for A Carbon Tax for Hawaii?
By James Mak and Erik Haites Hawaii’s constitution requires a Tax Review Commission (TRC) be appointed every five years to review the state’s tax/revenue system.
January 11, 2023
Blogs
Blog: VOG – Using Volcanic Eruptions to Estimate the Impact of Pollutants on Learning Outcomes
By Rachel Inafuku. Joint research with Tim Halliday, Lester Lusher and Aureo de Paula. Introduction While an extensive number of studies have shown that pollution
December 3, 2022
Blog: Rethinking HTA’s “Regenerative Tourism Fee”
By James Mak and Robert D. Ebel Hawaii Tourism Authority’s (HTA) Oahu Destination Management Action Plan (DMAP) proposes to “Establish a ‘Regenerative Tourism Fee’ (RTF)
November 14, 2022
Blog: Tourism water use during the COVID-19 shutdown: A natural experiment in Hawai‘i
By Nathan DeMaagd, Peter Fuleky, Kimberly Burnett, and Christopher Wada A recent study published in the Annals of Tourism Research used the shutdown of tourism
September 28, 2022
Blog: Social and Cultural values of Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems in Kona
By Veronica Gibson, Leah Bremer, Kimberly Burnett, Nicole Keakaonaaliʻi Lui, and Celia Smith “I think about the anchialine pools and the significance of the anchialine
September 19, 2022
Blog: To Tax or Not to Tax Sale of Food and Medicine
By James Mak Inflation is soaring at the highest rate since the early 1980s. Not surprisingly, many Hawaii residents are struggling financially today. Sadly, this
August 15, 2022
Blog: Is O‘ahu’s new Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy strategic enough?
By Steven Bond-Smith The draft O‘ahu Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for 2022-2026 is now out for public comment. The importance of the CEDS is
July 7, 2022
Blog: Managing for diverse coastal uses and values under sea level rise: perspectives from Oʻahu
By Leah Bremer, Makena Coffman, Alisha Summers, Lisa Kelley, and Billy Kinney “That whole experience of bonding, the family, the fresh air, that’s so critical.
June 7, 2022
Blog: The cost of “excess inflation” in Hawaii
By Daniela Bond-Smith, Steven Bond-Smith and Carl Bonham The cost of living in Hawaii continues to rise. In March, the Urban Hawaii (Honolulu) Consumer Price
April 19, 2022
Blog: Private Actions to Combat Climate Change Through Offsetting: The Story of The Coconut Traveler
By Kimberly Burnett, James Mak and Christopher Wada In late 2021, the United Nations (UN) held its 26th climate change conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.
April 7, 2022
Blog: Charging Visitors to Access Hawaii’s State Parks and Natural Recreation Areas
By Kimberly Burnett, James Mak and Christopher Wada Senate Bill S.B. 3192 S.D.2 in the current (2022) legislative session proposes to: “establish a visitor impact
March 18, 2022
Blog: Should Hawaii Levy a Visitor Green Fee to Protect Our Environment?
By James Mak Since the visitor to the Islands unquestionablycontributes significantly to the State’senvironmental problems, he will no doubthave to bear a substantial portion of
November 2, 2021
Blog: The Importance of Understanding Distance and Scale
By Steven Bond-Smith The economic geography of Hawaii is rather unique in the world. The economy is relatively small compared to other US states. But
October 22, 2021
Blog: The Rising Cost of Climate Change on Home Values
By Justin Tyndall Climate change poses a clear threat to coastal real estate assets. As sea level rises and coastal weather events become more severe,
October 19, 2021
Blog: Hawaii Needs to Focus on Developing Good Governance in Managing Tourism
By Paul Brewbaker, Frank Haas, and James Mak In order to develop and apply policies for tourism in destinations, there is usually a requirement for
October 13, 2021