Economy
How Big? The Impact of Approved Destination Status on Mainland Chinese Travel Abroad
China’s Approved Destination Status (ADS) policy governs foreign leisure travel by citizens to ADS-designated countries. To model the effects of ADS on Chinese visitor arrivals, we specify a model of demand for a representative Chinese consumer who values trips to n differentiated foreign destinations. Using panel data for Chinese visitor arrivals for 61 countries from 1985 to 2005, we […]
Read MoreQ & A: Europe’s slow moving train wreck
1. BY FRIDAY OF LAST WEEK, US STOCK’S HAD GIVEN UP ALL OF THEIR 2012 GAINS, BUT THEN THE MARKET RALLIED BY ALMOST 3% IN THE FIRST THREE DAYS OF THIS WEEK. WHATS GOING ON? US stocks peaked this year in early April, but then weak economic news caught up with the market. A […]
Read MoreThe Lag in Employment Recovery
While US real GDP bottomed out in the second quarter of 2009 and is now back at its pre-recession level, non-farm payrolls only started picking up at the beginning of 2010, and they remain far below their previous peak. What explains the existence of this lag? This brief appeared in the most recent UHERO County […]
Read MoreQ & A: Data Deluge!
1. THIS WAS A VERY BUSY WEEK FOR ECONOMIC NEWS. LETS START WITH THE HAWAII NEWS? Yesterday the Hawaii Tourism Authority released the April visitor numbers, and the string of strong visitor spending continues. April 2012 visitor spending of $1.17 billion was a record for the month of April, and after adjusting for seasonal variation […]
Read MoreQ & A: Positive Outlook on Hawaii Economy
1. UHERO RELEASED ITS SECOND QUARTER STATE FORECAST UPDATE—”VISITOR INDUSTRY STILL LEADING RECOVERY”. HOW STRONG IS THE VISITOR INDUSTRY RECOVER? In the first quarter of 2012, the total number of visitors to the state surged 8.5% above previous-year levels. Visitor days rose more than 9%, and spending is up more than 14%. We are forecasting […]
Read MoreSome Perspectives on Another Weak Employment Report
In April, US non-farm payroll jobs rose by a meager 115,000, and the unemployment rate fell slightly from 8.2% to 8.1% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lower unemployment rate resulted from a 196,000 decline in employment and an even larger 342,000 drop in the labor force. The civilian labor force participation rate fell […]
Read MoreQ & A: Legislative recap
1. SO WHAT DOES THE STATE HAVE PLANNED FOR THE NEXT TWO FISCAL YEARS? A review of the budget shows three main points: –Increased spending on education, medical, other state services. –Big increases in spending on capital projects. –Important state reserve funds have not been replenished. 2. LET’S LOOK AT EACH ONE OF THESE. WHAT’S […]
Read MoreAn economic approach to assessing import policies designed to prevent the arrival of invasive species: the case of Puccinia psidii in Hawai‘i
Since its first documented introduction to Hawai‘i in 2005, the rust fungus Puccinia psidii has already severely damaged Syzygium jambos (Indian rose apple) trees and the federally endangered Eugenia koolauensis (nioi). Fortunately, the particular strain has yet to cause serious damage to Metrosideros polymorpha (‘ōhi‘a). However, the introduction of more virulent strains and the genetic […]
Read MoreQ & A: Unemployment Numbers
1. HAWAII’S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE SEEMS TO ALWAYS BE BELOW THE US UNEMPLOYMENT RATE. HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON? Since the mid-1970s. It’s below the US rate in good time and in bad times.Consider the February 2012 unemployment rates for Hawaii and the US: Hawaii: 6.4% US: 8.3%. A difference of 1.9%.. 2. SO […]
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