Blogs
Now and Later: The Impact of the Government Shutdown
By Peter Fuleky There are about 34,000 civilian federal jobs in Hawaii, a fraction of which were deemed essential and have therefore not been furloughed. Many of the 18,000 Department of Defense employees were ordered back on the job after the first week of the shutdown, and they are expected to be paid on time. […]
Read MoreThe UHERO Dashboard Project Jobs Explorer: Occupations in Hawaii
The Hawaii Jobs Explorer, the first interactive tool to be released as a part of the ongoing UHERO Dashboard Project, is now available for public use. The Hawaii Jobs Explorer is a thorough examination of occupations and salaries in the state of Hawaii, presented in a visual, easy-to-navigate context. The data-rich design allows users to […]
Read MoreInvestigating the Effects of Furloughing Public School Teachers on Juvenile Crime in Hawaii
By Tim Halliday What happens to crime when 180,000 DOE students and all of their teachers are given the day off? When a fiscal crisis led to 17 “Furlough Fridays” during the 2009/2010 school year, we found ourselves in a unique position to find out. While it is tempting to imagine streets being flooded with […]
Read MoreHawaii’s Energy Future
By Makena Coffman Last week’s Asia Pacific Clean Energy Conference has focused the spotlight on Hawaii’s energy future. Governor Abercrombie opened the conference with a strong commitment to installing an undersea cable between Oahu and Maui. The Blue Planet foundation unveiled their “Energy Report Card” during a keynote address by Henk Rogers. Meanwhile, recent coverage […]
Read MoreDecline in Pacific Currencies: Crisis or More Adjustment to Come? : Pacific Beat Interview
By Sumner La Croix 1. The last few months have seen 10-20 percent declines in the exchange rates of many Pacific countries against the US dollar. The decline in the value of Indonesia’s currency has been particularly notable. Why is this happening? Each country has its own story, but the driving force behind the decline […]
Read MoreThe Unintended Consequences of Affordable Housing Policy
By Carl Bonham Honolulu City Council Resolution 13-168 would amend the percentages of affordable housing units that developers must provide to receive authorization for housing projects. Current city policy requires that 10% of a development’s units must be affordable for households earning no more than 80% of the HUD median income for Honolulu. Another 10% of units in […]
Read MoreRonald Coase, 1910-2013
By Jim Roumasset Nobel Laureate Ronald Coase passed away unexpectedly on September 2. Despite his age, Professor Coase was planning a trip to China, following up on his 2012 book, How China Became Capitalist. Coase gave a great interview in 2009 about his contributions regarding the market, the firm, and property rights. He modestly dismisses […]
Read MoreThe Water-Energy-Food Nexus
By Christopher Wada The water-energy-food nexus is one of the most important and fundamental global environmental issues facing the world today. The US Geological Survey estimates that the United States used 201 billion gallons per day (bgd) of freshwater for thermoelectric power generation and 128 bgd for irrigation in the year 2005. Combined, energy generation […]
Read MoreUHERO 101.8: Are All Tax Credits Created Equal?
By Kimberly Burnett and James Jones The intention of well-designed tax credit programs is to incentivize individuals or organizations to invest or participate in a commodity or service that will increase the greater good (by, for example, stimulating the economy and/or reducing environmental damage), but that they might not invest in without this additional benefit. […]
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