Blogs
How I know we’re Not in a Recession. (And when we’ll know if we are.)
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 MoreHawaiʻi’s Unnecessary Benefit Cliff: How One Small Policy Change Could Deliver Tens of Millions in Federally-Funded SNAP Benefits
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 MoreWhich College Majors Pay the Most in Hawaiʻi and the US?
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 MoreHow Expanding Access to Preschool Can Benefit Hawaii’s Future
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 MoreWhy Not Just Tax Them? A Middle Ground on Addressing Short-Term Rentals
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 MorePotential opportunities to diversify the economy of Hawaiʻi
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 these issues—which became especially […]
Read MoreMaui Short-Term Rentals, the Minatoya List, and Housing Supply
By Justin Tyndall and Emi Kim Recent state legislation has given counties new powers to regulate Transient Vacation Rental (TVR) properties. A proposal on Maui would significantly reduce the number of TVRs by withdrawing permission to operate for over 7,000 properties. Below, we briefly summarize the policy proposal and discuss the characteristics of the units […]
Read MoreJapan Update: Struggling to escape inflation’s drag
By Byron Gangnes Like all countries, Japan was hit hard by COVID-19, and the economy has struggled to get back on track since. Some headwinds are familiar to Japan: the softness in foreign markets has hurt an economy for which exports remain an important source of growth. But the pandemic’s aftermath also brought very unfamiliar […]
Read MoreUnclaimed: Over $15 million in Tax Credits for Low Income Households
By Dylan T. Moore (UHERO) & Baybars Karacaovali (Office of Tax Research and Planning, Hawai’i Department of Taxation) In 2021, low-income households in Hawaii were eligible for about $42 million through the state’s refundable food/excise income tax credit. But over one third—or $15.3 million—of this money went unclaimed. These estimates come from a new analysis […]
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