Economy
State Forecast Update: Japanese Quake Won’t Derail Recovery
The Japanese earthquake has led to a pause in visitor industry growth, but unless we see a further spike in oil prices, Hawaii’s economic recovery will continue to build strength.
Read MoreDr. Sumner LaCroix to participate on tourism panel on PBS Hawaii’s INSIGHTS
The INSIGHTS ON PBS HAWAII program will feature a discussion about the state of tourism in Hawaii. Featured on the panel will be UHERO Research Fellow and Professor of Economics, Dr. Sumner LaCroix, Ramsay Taum, President of the Life Enhancement Institute of the Pacific, Mike McCartney, President/CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Keith Vieira, VP […]
Read MoreIndirect Inference Based on the Score
The Efficient Method of Moments (EMM) estimator popularized by Gallant and Tauchen (1996) is an indirect inference estimator based on the simulated auxiliary score evaluated at the sample estimate of the auxiliary parameters. We study an alternative estimator that uses the sample auxiliary score evaluated at the simulated binding function which maps the structural parameters […]
Read MoreUHERO Brief: The Macroeconomic Aftermath of the Earthquake / Tsunami in Japan?
The unfolding nuclear disaster in Japan makes any assessment of the near term outlook highly speculative. In coming weeks, as data on the extent of damage to Japan and Hawaii’s tourism industry is collected, UHERO will analyze the impact of the crisis on the near term outlook for Hawaii. In this UHERO Brief, UH economist […]
Read MoreThe Macroeconomic Aftermath of the Earthquake / Tsunami in Japan?
The unfolding nuclear disaster in Japan makes any assessment of the near term outlook highly speculative. In coming weeks, as data on the extent of damage to Japan and Hawaii’s tourism industry is collected, UHERO will analyze the impact of the crisis on the near term outlook for Hawaii. In this UHERO Brief, UH economist […]
Read MorePayment schemes in random-termination experimental games
We consider payment schemes in experiments that model infinite-horizon games by using random termination. We compare paying subjects cumulatively for all periods of the game; with paying subjects for the last period only; with paying for one of the periods, chosen randomly. Theoretically, assuming expected utility maximization and risk neutrality, both the cumulative and the […]
Read MoreState Forecast Update: Rail Will Add to Momentum
As last year’s strong tourism rebound tapers off, Oahu rail transit work will lead to an upturn in construction.
Read MoreIs Our World Going to Get a Whole Lot Smaller?
The surge of oil prices in recent years has led to speculation that rising transportation costs could end the period of dramatic world trade growth–in the words of Rubin (2009), “…Your world is going to get a whole lot smaller.” Using data from China’s Customs Statistics, we examine the impact of oil prices on trade’s […]
Read MorePreferential Trade and Welfare with Differentiated Products
We consider analytically and numerically the welfare tradeoffs inherent in a preferential trade area (PTA) with products differentiated by region of origin. For a small open economy in such a setting, welfare gains are associated with higher trade volumes within the PTA. However, welfare losses are induced by declining tariff revenues on trade with nonmember […]
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