Blogs
Funding the Hawaii Tourism Authority: TAT vs General Fund…Or?
By James Mak A majority of the states in the U.S. have a government tourism office (also known as Destination Marketing Organization, DMO) that markets their state. The National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL) notes that the most common way for states to fund their tourism offices is by appropriation from their general fund. [1] […]
Read MoreIs a Carbon Tax Viable for a Small Island Economy?
By Maja Schjervheim, Paul Bernstein, Sumner La Croix, Makena Coffman, and Sherilyn Hayashida For the third year in a row, a carbon tax bill fizzled out at the Hawaiʻi State Legislature. Perhaps it was the difficult timing of introducing a new tax in the wake of a pandemic. Perhaps it was due to qualms regarding […]
Read MoreShould the Counties Get a Share of the Transient Accommodation Tax?
By James Mak In the recently-concluded thirty-first legislature (2021), Hawaii state lawmakers passed HB 862 CD1 which would divert to the state government’s general fund (GF) $103 million from the state’s transient accommodation tax collections (TAT) that otherwise would have gone to the counties. In exchange, state lawmakers gave each of the four counties the […]
Read MoreHow to Renovate Housing Policy in a Way that Works
How to Renovate Housing Policy in a Way that Works On May 12, the University of Hawaii Better Tomorrow Speaker Series series hosted a discussion with Stanford economist Rebecca Diamond to address the crisis in housing supply and affordability. Below are some highlights from the conversation, which were condensed and edited for clarity. If you missed the […]
Read MoreHow Bad? Labor Underutilization in Hawaii During the Pandemic
By James Mak The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently issued revised estimates of civilian labor force and unemployment in Hawaii for all of 2020. The new numbers show that in December 2020 Hawaii had the unenviable distinction of having the highest state unemployment rate in the nation (10.3%). For the entire year, Hawaii’s […]
Read MoreCOVID-19 infections, vaccines, and economic recovery
By Carl Bonham, Peter Fuleky, Byron Gangnes, and Justin Tyndall A year ago Hawaii was operating under its first COVID-19 Stay at Home Order. As business activity contracted, the state quickly shed more than 150,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate jumped from 2% to 22%. Today there is hope that the devastation brought by the […]
Read MoreMobility Data Shows Fewer Residents Staying at Home
By Joshua Hu and Justin Tyndall Hawaii has steadily moved forward with its vaccination initiative. Currently, the CDC reports that 26% of Hawai’i residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, slightly above the national rate of 24%. Despite progress in vaccinations, during the period from mid-February to early April, Hawai’i has undergone a rise in new […]
Read MoreLocation, Location, Location! A uniquely Hawaiʻi economic development strategy
By Steven Bond-Smith* Hawai‘i’s vulnerability to economic shocks has become a paramount concern during the pandemic. Extreme specialization in the visitor industry exposes Hawaiʻi to risk and volatility when events such as a pandemic, recession or terrorist attack trigger collapses in visitor numbers. In response, policy-makers in Hawaiʻi are placing an increasing emphasis on diversification. […]
Read MoreThe Hawaii Film Tax Credit: An Update
By Sumner La Croix and James Mak In 1997, Hawaii was one of the first states to grant tax credits to attract content producers to film their projects in the state. As of January 2021, 32 states offer tax credits to defray qualifying expenses of filming movie/TV productions. The competition to attract film/TV productions now […]
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