Publications
Publication: Incorporating Historical Spring Discharge Protection Into Sustainable Groundwater Management: A Case Study From Pearl Harbor Aquifer, Hawai‘i
Groundwater management policy around the world increasingly seeks to protect groundwater-dependent ecosystems and associated human uses and values. This includes uses of ecosystems and agricultural systems linked to natural spring discharge. Yet, there are few examples of practical tools to balance human groundwater use with ecological water demand related to spring discharge. Using a simulation […]
Read MoreThe Mortality Effects of Reduced Medicaid Coverage Among International Migrants in Hawaii: 2012–2018
Objectives: To study the impact on mortality in Hawaii from the revoked state Medicaid program coverage in March 2015 for most Compact of Free Association (COFA) migrants who were nonblind, nondisabled, and nonpregnant. Methods: We computed quarterly crude mortality rates for COFA migrants, Whites, and Japanese Americans from March 2012 to November 2018. We employed […]
Read MoreCoastal armoring and sinking property values: the case of seawalls in California
Rising sea levels necessitate careful consideration of different forms of coastal protection but cost-benefit analysis is limited when important non-market social costs have not been measured. Seawalls protect individual properties but can potentially impose negative externalities on neighboring properties via accelerated beach loss. We conduct a hedonic valuation of seawalls in two coastal California counties: […]
Read MoreEV driver characteristics: Evidence from Hawaii
Electric vehicles (EVs) offer an opportunity to dramatically decrease greenhouse gas emissions within the transport sector if fueled by renewable energy. Hawaii had been early-on considered an ideal place to launch new EVs because of the limited driving range of its island geography. Though it ranks second in new EV registrations per capita in the […]
Read MoreCan demand-side management replicate a size limit in a small-scale fishery?
We tested whether it is possible to replicate the effects of a size limit with a voluntary mechanism – a price premium for larger fish. We randomly offered fishers in Indonesia a bonus for catching certain species of fish above certain sizes. We observe clear differences in catch as a result. Instead of inducing fishers to […]
Read MoreOpportunities for agent-based modelling in human dimensions of fisheries
Models of human dimensions of fisheries are important to understanding and predicting how fishing industries respond to changes in marine ecosystems and management institutions. Advances in computation have made it possible to construct agent-based models (ABMs)—which explicitly describe the behaviour of individual people, firms or vessels in order to understand and predict their aggregate behaviours. ABMs are […]
Read MoreMountain-to-sea ecological-resource management: forested watersheds, coastal aquifers, and groundwater dependent ecosystems
Improving the understanding of connections spanning from mountain to sea and integrating those connections into decision models have been increasingly recognized as key to effective coastal resource management. In this paper, we aim to improve our understanding of the relative importance of linkages between a forested watershed, a coastal groundwater aquifer, and a nearshore marine […]
Read MoreDo Natural Disasters Make Sustainable Growth Impossible?
We consider the prospects for sustainable growth using expected utility models of optimal investment under threat from natural disasters. Adoption of a continuous time, stochastic Ramsey growth model over an infinite time horizon permits the analysis of sustainability under uncertainty regarding adverse events, including both one-time and recurrent disasters. As appropriate to small economies, we […]
Read MoreEnvironmental market design for large-scale marine conservation
It is commonly agreed that marine conservation should expand considerably around the world. However, most countries have not yet implemented large-scale no-take Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). When a country closes a large fraction of its waters to fishing, it stands to lose a considerable level of fishery revenue. Although biodiversity and spillover fishing benefits may far exceed […]
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