Blogs

Blog: The Importance of Understanding Distance and Scale

October 22, 2021

By Steven Bond-Smith The economic geography of Hawaii is rather unique in the world. The economy is relatively small compared to other US states. But it is relatively large and advanced compared to many other Pacific economies. The state is extraordinarily isolated geographically, as is well known and appreciated. But it is also extraordinarily connected […]

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The Rising Cost of Climate Change on Home Values

October 19, 2021

By Justin Tyndall Climate change poses a clear threat to coastal real estate assets. As sea level rises and coastal weather events become more severe, exposed properties will experience recurring damage and some will become uninhabitable. Homebuyers may fail to fully appreciate the threat of sea level rise, causing homes in coastal areas to be […]

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Hawaii Needs to Focus on Developing Good Governance in Managing Tourism

October 13, 2021

By Paul Brewbaker, Frank Haas, and James Mak In order to develop and apply policies for tourism in destinations, there is usually a requirement for knowledge, thought, the application of power, resources and rules, and also coordination and cooperation among numerous actors. Together, these are the key features of governance. Bill BramwellSheffield Hallem UniversityUK At the […]

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What do families in Hawaiʻi use electricity for?

September 29, 2021

By Nori Tarui and Pratistha Gyawali IntroductionThe dashboard illustrates Hawaiʻi’s residential electricity usage based on the 2019 Residential Energy Use Survey, a residential appliance saturation survey conducted by Hawaiian Electric Company. UHERO applied the conditional demand analysis (CDA), which is a statistical method to estimate average annual consumption associated with each appliance based on survey […]

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Blog: Identifying wastewater management tradeoffs: costs, nearshore water quality, and implications for marine coastal ecosystems in Kona, Hawai’i

September 8, 2021

By Christopher A. Wada, Kimberly M. Burnett , Brytne K. Okuhata, Jade M. S. Delevaux, Henrietta Dulai, Aly I. El-Kadi, Veronica Gibson, Celia Smith, Leah L. Bremer An interdisciplinary team from UHERO, the Water Resources Research Center, Dept. of Earth Sciences, and the Dept. of Botany recently published new scientific results in the journal PLOS […]

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Energy Economics: Lessons for and from the Philippines

August 30, 2021

By Jim Roumasset This is to share some recent energy research from the Philippines. Some of the findings have relevance for other small economies such as Hawaii. Green GDP and environmental taxationMany governments, including those in the Philippines and the U.S. declare that their mission is to promote the general welfare. It is well known […]

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Blog: COVID-19 Mandates: Recommendations for Hawaiʻi Businesses

August 23, 2021

By Ruben Juarez, Alika Maunakea, May Okihiro, and Carl Bonham Faced with the largest increase in cases since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hawaii needs effective solutions that would reduce the number of cases disproportionately ravaging communities in the state. In August 2021, the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization and the Pacific Alliance […]

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Blog: Improving Pedestrian Safety in Hawaiʻi

August 12, 2021

By Justin Tyndall Over 2,500 people have been killed in motor vehicle crashes in Hawaiʻi since 2000, averaging a person every three days. Car crashes are a leading cause of accidental death, particularly for younger people. In a different setting, this scale of mortality might be treated as a public health emergency, but we have […]

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Are We Hitting Our Targets? A Look at Hawai‘i’s GHG Emissions

August 11, 2021

By Makena Coffman, Maja Schjervheim, and Paul Bernstein Over the past three years, the State of Hawai‘i Department of Health has released a Hawai‘i Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report. This year’s report added an inventory for 2017, as well as projections through 2030 based on existing policies and trends. UHERO collaborated with ICF on this project and […]

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