Blogs
Incorporating Historical Spring Discharge Protection into Sustainable Groundwater Management: A Case Study from Pearl Harbor Aquifer, Hawai‘i
By Kimberly Burnett, Ahmed Elshall, Christopher Wada, Aida Arik, Aly El-Kadi, Clifford Voss, Jade Delevaux, and Leah Bremer The value of considering a range of diverse benefits is particularly salient in geographically isolated areas like the Hawaiian Islands, where judicious management of limited local freshwater resources is essential to sustaining the wellbeing of residents and […]
Read MoreEstimating the Need for Rental Assistance in Hawaii
By Philip ME Garboden and Isabelle Picciotto Renters in Hawaii are at significant risk due to the economic downturn. Roughly 40% of all households in Hawaii rent their homes. They have significantly lower income than homeowners, with a median household income of $57,000 compared with $100,000 for homeowners. Their housing tenure is by nature less […]
Read MoreEarly UI Data Reveals Differential Impacts of the Economic Shutdown
By Justin Tyndall and Philip Garboden Two weeks ago the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations released its monthly snapshot of individuals receiving unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. The data represents only the 69,729 individuals receiving benefits on April 12th, 2020. Data is also presented at the county level, allowing for comparisons across our islands. Since the […]
Read MoreMultipliers and the effectiveness of government policies
By Byron Gangnes, Rachel Inafuku, and Peter Fuleky The economic shutdown in Hawaii and elsewhere due to the novel coronavirus has led to sharp reductions in employment and private spending, as well as historically large government fiscal responses. Analysis of the effects of changes in government spending and employment policies requires estimates of how much […]
Read MoreMapping Unemployment Claims in Hawai’i
By Justin Tyndall The labor market impact of COVID-19 is likely to vary across different areas of Hawai’i. Using new data on a sample of 150,000 initial unemployment claims from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, we created a map that provides a first indication of the severity of the labor market downturn, organized […]
Read MoreMountain to sea resource management to protect groundwater dependent ecosystems
By Christopher Wada, Kimberly Burnett, and Sittidaj Ponkijvorasin In Hawai‘i and other parts of the world, native forest and valuable linked natural resources are being threatened by forces including land use change, invasive species, and climate change. Management strategies for protecting these resources are commonly divided into two categories: (1) active restoration where interventions such as […]
Read MorePositive net benefits for an agricultural import rule designed to protect native Hawaiian forests
Photo by Forest & Kim Starr By Kimberly Burnett and Christopher Wada Since its first documented introduction to Hawai‘i in 2005, the rust fungus Puccinia psidii has already severely damaged Syzygium jambos (Indian rose apple) trees and the federally endangered Eugenia koolauensis (nioi). Fortunately, the particular strain has yet to cause serious damage to Metrosideros polymorpha (‘ōhi‘a), which comprises roughly 80% of the […]
Read MoreSaving the Class of 2020 From the COVID-19 Economic Crisis
By Sumner La Croix and James Mak At Hawai‘i’s high schools, 11,000+ students at public schools and 3,000+ students at private schools are about to graduate. Sadly, because of COVID-19, graduating seniors from the Class of 2020 are forced to forego festive ceremonies and celebrations that mark their transition to adulthood. Until COVID-19, graduation meant […]
Read MoreCounty Results from Small Business Survey
An update to original state-level survey results: https://uhero.hawaii.edu/covid-19s-uneven-impact-on-businesses-and-workers-results-from-a-uhero-chamber-of-commerce-hawaii-survey/ The attached tables represent a county-by-county breakdown of the key statistics summarized in last week’s statewide analysis of the UHERO / Chamber of Commerce small business survey. Each table is weighted relative to the number of businesses in each sector in each county. The take home is […]
Read More