Blogs
Can Hawai‘i Rise from the Ashes of COVID-19 as a Smart Destination?
By Frank Haas and James Mak A recent headline in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser said it all: TOURISM MELTDOWN. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic Hawai‘i hotels and attractions have closed, incoming passengers are quarantined, unemployment claims have skyrocketed, and daily passenger counts went from 30,000 plus to a few hundred. In a matter of […]
Read MoreCOVID-19’s Uneven Impact on Businesses and Workers: Results from a UHERO-Chamber of Commerce Hawaii Survey
By Philip Garboden County breakdown update: https://uhero.hawaii.edu/county-results-from-small-business-survey/ Right now, everyone is making sacrifices. But as with any natural disaster, some people and places are being hit harder than others. To better understand these dynamics, UHERO partnered with the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii and a dozen other industry associations across the state to field a survey […]
Read MoreTap Fed Lending Facilities to Support Local Economy
By Carl Bonham, Byron Gangnes, Sumner LaCroix, and James Mak The State and counties are facing unprecedented budget shortfalls in this fiscal year and the next. While a combination of carry-over funds and monies from various special funds could tide the State over in the very short run, tax revenue declines that could easily top […]
Read MoreInterim Forecast Update: Hawaii’s Economy is Shut Down to Deal with COVID-19
This is UHERO’s second interim forecast update to address dramatic recent developments associated with the novel coronavirus pandemic. Much has changed since the interim forecast update that we released three weeks ago. COVID-19 has spread to more and more countries, with disastrous impacts being seen in several major European economies, including Italy and Spain. Nationally, […]
Read MoreThe Agony of Restaurant Workers
Social distancing is necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19, but has significant economic impacts, hitting dine-in eateries disproportionately hard.
Read MoreWho are we measuring and modeling for? Supporting real-world watershed management
By Leah Bremer and Kate Brauman (In Press at the Global Water Forum) Watershed management programs that promote land management like reforestation, conservation, and lower-intensity grazing to enhance clean and ample water supplies downstream are becoming more common around the world. To achieve their water goals, they often need hydrologic information, usually generated through field measurements and hydrologic models. However, hard work by the hydrologic community […]
Read MoreInterim Forecast Update: COVID-19 Will Impose Significant Economic Impacts in Hawaii
The spread of the novel coronavirus and recent visitor falloff lead us to lower sharply our outlook for the Hawaii economy. In the baseline forecast, real visitor spending is expected to fall more than 10% this year and payroll jobs by 0.6%, with an attenuated recovery path. Alternative scenarios reflect a wide range of possible […]
Read MoreTo Tax or Not to Tax: Making a High-Quality State Revenue/Tax System
By James Mak When Hawaii’s state lawmakers gather each year at the State Capitol to begin their annual legislative session, tinkering with the tax system always seems to consume much of their work. Hawaii citizens can count on seeing a slew of bills introduced to raise taxes on somebody while other bills are introduced to […]
Read MoreJust Published: “Macroeconomic Forecasting in the Era of Big Data”
By Peter Fuleky Big data analysis has a long history in macroeconomics. In 1937, National Bureau of Economic Research researchers Wesley Mitchell and Arthur Burns used 487 monthly and quarterly economic time series to advise policy makers on the state of the US business cycle. Since then advances in information technology and its ubiquitous use […]
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