Blogs
Early 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 MoreCOVID-19: Developing Economic Recovery Scenarios for Hawaii
By Carl Bonham, Peter Fuleky, and Byron Gangnes A significant part of Hawaii’s economy has effectively been shut down to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the Islands. The mandatory fourteen-day self-quarantine requirement for arriving visitors and residents has largely put a stop to tourism. And the stay-at-home order for all non-essential workers that […]
Read MorePreserving Housing Stability During Hawaii’s COVID Crisis
By Philip Garboden Last week, the Eviction Lab released a scorecard for COVID-19 Housing Policy. Hawaii scored fairly well comparatively: 15th out of the 50 states. Unfortunately, this only put us near the top of a fairly rotten pile. With the exception of two or three states, the vast majority of the country currently has […]
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