Insights
Beyond the hype: What research shows about the value of college in the AI era
By Rachel Inafuku and Steven Bond-Smith Does a college education still provide significant labor market advantages in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) era? Many observers argue that AI is beginning to replace the entry-level white-collar roles that once served as career launching points for new college graduates. A 2024 McKinsey & Company survey found that the […]
Read MoreCost-Effective Invasive Species Management: Biocontrol in Hawaiʻi Delivers High Return on Investment
By Conrad Newfield, Christopher Wada, and Kimberly Burnett Read the full report. Growing Threats to Hawaiʻi’s Forests and Industries Hawaiʻi’s native ecosystems and agricultural economy are under threat from invasive species. Each year, an average of 20 alien insects and 100 alien plant species arrive in the islands. This long and growing list of invasive […]
Read MoreHow Do Industry Views of Tourism in Hawai‘i Compare with Residents and Visitors?
By Colin Moore, Frank Haas, and John Knox Read the full report. Public debate about tourism in Hawai‘i is often cast in binary terms, either for or against the industry, yet the reality is far more complex. Hawai‘i’s visitor industry is shaped by the interplay of political, market, and operational forces, each reflected in the […]
Read MoreRecession watch: US data is softening—Is a downturn imminent?
By Byron Gangnes A little less than a year ago, I published a post explaining why the US economy was clearly NOT in a recession, despite contrary claims and the pain experienced by some families. Fast forward a year, and things look very different. Now there are signs that we may be flirting with a […]
Read MoreConsensus and Conflict: A Data-Driven Look at the Biggest Bills in Hawai‘i’s 2025 Legislature
By Trey Gordner and Colin Moore In our last post, Bills, Backers, and Blocs, we analyzed the positions Hawai‘i’s politically active organizations took on nearly 2,000 bills in the 2025 legislative session, revealing patterns in lobbying strategy, frequency, and intensity. This companion post uses the same Legislative/Administrative Action Report (LAAR) data to examine lobbying at […]
Read MoreWhy Hawaiʻi Has Less Inequality Than You’d Think
By Rachel Inafuku Living in Hawaiʻi is expensive, and lower-income households struggle the most to make ends meet. Yet despite the high cost of living, Hawaiʻi consistently ranks among US states with relatively lower levels of income inequality. A standard measure of income inequality is the Gini coefficient, which measures how much incomes differ from […]
Read MoreWhat Happens After Job Training? Preliminary Wage and Employment Insights from Good Jobs Hawai‘i
By Rachel Inafuku and Tim Halliday Hawai‘i’s workforce has long faced a persistent challenge: high living costs combined with a concentration of low-wage, low-skill employment. The Good Jobs Hawai‘i (GJHI) program is a tuition-free, non-credit training program offered through the University of Hawai‘i Community Colleges. It was launched to help local residents gain skills and […]
Read MoreBills, Backers, and Blocs: A Data-Driven Look at Lobbying in Hawai‘i
By Trey Gordner and Colin Moore When the Hawaiʻi State Legislature mandated the Legislative/Administrative Action Report (LAAR) beginning in 2025, it launched one of the country’s most detailed state-level lobbying datasets. The final filing for the 2025 session (due June 2) revealed 7,188 positions taken by 340 organizations on 1,747 bills. What we found Figure […]
Read MoreRoots Reborn: “Our Financial Future” – Insights into the Challenges and Opportunities Facing Maui’s Immigrant Community
By Ruben Juarez, Veronica Mendoza Jachowski, Lily Solano, and the Roots Reborn Team Background and PurposeIn February and March 2025, Roots Reborn launched Our Financial Future, a community-driven initiative to support immigrant wildfire survivors through direct financial aid, banking access, and financial education. Drawing on nearly 300 participants, the initiative employed two comprehensive, culturally attuned […]
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