Potential opportunities to diversify the economy of Hawaiʻi
Read the full report By: Steven Bond-Smith and Sumit Ilamkar The economy of Hawaiʻi is extraordinarily concentrated in the tourism industry. As a result of…
Maui Short-Term Rentals, the Minatoya List, and Housing Supply
By Justin Tyndall and Emi Kim Recent state legislation has given counties new powers to regulate Transient Vacation Rental (TVR) properties. A proposal on Maui…
Japan Update: Struggling to escape inflation’s drag
By Byron Gangnes Like all countries, Japan was hit hard by COVID-19, and the economy has struggled to get back on track since. Some headwinds…
Unclaimed: Over $15 million in Tax Credits for Low Income Households
By Dylan T. Moore (UHERO) & Baybars Karacaovali (Office of Tax Research and Planning, Hawai’i Department of Taxation) In 2021, low-income households in Hawaii were…
Delinquencies have spiked in the aftermath of the Maui wildfires
By Daniela Bond-Smith The devastating Maui wildfires destroyed most of Lahaina and displaced thousands of residents. But many Lahaina homeowners still have mortgages on their…
UHERO welcomes Trey Gordner
We are pleased to welcome Trey Gordner, who joined UHERO in June as a new Data Science Researcher. Trey was recently appointed as a Lincoln…
Recent findings from the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study featured in The Washington Post
Months after Maui fires, residents report troubling health problems A new report details respiratory ailments, mental health conditions and lack of access to medical care…
Co-Production of Knowledge at Sumida Farm Trains a New Generation of Community-Engaged Scientists
A collaboration between the University of Hawai‘i (UH), Hawai‘i Sea Grant, and the fourth generation of Sumida farmers focuses on training a new generation of…
UHERO’s Justin Tyndall cited in the 2024 Economic Report of the President
Congratulations to UHERO’s Justin Tyndall whose recent article (co-authored with Limin Fang and Nathan Stewart)” Homeowner Politics and Housing Supply” was cited in the 2024 Economic Report…
UHERO’s Byron Gangnes to be featured at HEA webinar
On Thursday, March 28, UHERO’s Byron Gangnes will join First Hawaiian Bank’s Steve Rodgers in a webinar hosted by the Hawaii Economic Association to discuss…
Wealth by Association? How Social Networks Drive Inequality in Hawaii
Studies show that economic connectedness, a poor individual’s share of wealthy friends, significantly impacts economic mobility. Hawaii ranks highly in this metric compared to other…
Taxing Tourists to Generate Revenue to Address the Negative Impacts of Climate Change on Hawai‘i Natural Resources
There is widespread agreement among Hawai‘i residents that the state government needs to spend more money on natural resource stewardship. A critical question is how…
Dissolving the Hawaii Tourism Authority
Read the summary blog post. By Paul Brewbaker, Frank Haas, and James Mak State lawmakers in the 2023 state legislature are bashing the Hawaii Tourism…
Public Campaign Financing: Evidence and Opportunities for Hawai‘i
By Colin Moore Concerns about the corrupting influence of money in politics have led to renewed interest in public campaign financing. Some argue that using…
Hawai‘i Tourism in Search of the Promised Land
By Paul Brewbaker, Frank Haas and James Mak Public pressure has been mounting on the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA) to shift its focus from mainly…
UHERO Forecast for the State of Hawaiʻi: Expansion intact, but counties poised for slower growth
Hawaii’s economy will continue to grow, but at a slower pace than in past years. Maui rebuilding and the incremental return of international travelers will…
UHERO Forecast for the State of Hawaiʻi: Near-term slowing expected as pandemic recovery ends
Hawaii’s economy has been sustained by a resilient US and the gradual return of international visitors. With the Islands’ post-pandemic recovery now largely complete, the…
UHERO Forecast for the State of Hawaiʻi: State facing headwinds as Maui recovery begins
Hawaii’s economy has been resilient in the face of weakening US and global economies, high interest rates, and the glacial return of Japanese travelers. Deceleration…
UHERO Forecast for the State of Hawaiʻi: Wildfires deliver heavy blow to Maui economy
The tragic Maui wildfires have inflicted deep pain and loss on the affected communities, and sorrow among all of Hawaii’s residents. There are also economic…
UHERO Forecast for the State of Hawaiʻi: Promise and Peril for the Hawaii Economy
Recent developments bring both promise and peril for Hawaii. Tourism prospects are positive, despite the delayed Japanese market recovery. Construction activity will remain high, and…
Potential opportunities to diversify the economy of Hawai‘i
Read the summary blog post. The economy of Hawai‘i is extraordinarily concentrated in the tourism industry. As a result of tourism’s dominance, Hawai‘i’s economy faces…
Exploring the Gender Pay Gap in Hawai‘i
The US has made substantial progress in closing the historical earnings gap between men and women, but data from the American Community Survey (ACS) shows…
The Hawaii Housing Factbook 2024
The past year has brought significant shocks to the housing market in Hawai‘i. In 2023, only one in five local households could afford a mortgage…
Maui Wildfire Exposure Study: Community Health, Wellbeing, and Resilience
The Maui Wildfire Exposure Study (MauiWES) is the most comprehensive study focused on understanding and mitigating the health and social impacts of the Maui wildfires….
How does Hawai‘i’s economic geography affect its healthcare industry?
Hawai‘i’s small size and isolation present particular challenges to the healthcare industry, including lower productivity and higher costs, due to its limited ability to take…
Co-Production of Knowledge at Sumida Farm Trains a New Generation of Community-Engaged Scientists
A collaboration between the University of Hawai‘i (UH), Hawai‘i Sea Grant, and the fourth generation of Sumida farmers focuses on training a new generation of…
Threshold regressions for more objective urban and regional policies
Abstract: Achieving policy goals often requires different policies for different places, but the assignment of places to policies is often arbitrary, political, or based on…
Male-biased sex ratios, marriage, and household composition in early twentieth-century Hawai‘i
Abstract: Immigration to Hawai‘i between 1870 and 1930 led to a more than six-fold increase in population and high and rapidly varying sex ratios in…
The effect of front-end vehicle height on pedestrian death risk
Abstract: Pedestrian deaths in the US have risen in recent years. Concurrently, US vehicles have increased in size, which may pose a safety risk for…
Combining agglomeration economies and endogenous growth without scale effects
Abstract: Increasing returns to scale is essential to both spatial economics and macroeconomic growth. Spatial externalities imply external local increasing returns that generate an uneven…