Sumner La Croix
The Impact of Marriage Equality on Hawai′i’s Economy and Government: An Update After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Same-Sex Marriage Decisions
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in the two same-sex marriage cases have substantially increased the short-term and medium-term benefits that could accrue to Hawai‘i if the Hawai‘i State Legislature enacts legislation allowing same-sex marriages to begin in Fall 2013 or early in 2014.
Read MoreUS Marines Moving From Okinawa – Pacific Beat Interview
By Sumner La Croix The United States announced plans on June 20 to move about a quarter of the ~20,000 US marines based in Okinawa to Guam, Hawaii, the US mainland, the Philippines, and Australia over the next 13 years. Are those plans still moving forward? Yes, they are, but an editorial in last week’s […]
Read MoreBringing China to the Table
Radio Australia Interview: Implications for Pacific Countries 1. U.S. PRESIDENT OBAMA AND CHINA PRESIDENT XI ARE MEETING IN CALIFORNIA THIS WEEKEND. WHAT’S AT THE TOP OF THEIR AGENDA? Security issues will surely be number one, with three issues dominating: Cyber-security: Big U.S. concerns about cyber-attacks on U.S. government and industry computers. North Korea: Its unstable […]
Read MoreThe Impact of Same-Sex Marriage on Hawai‘i’s Economy and Government
This report provides quantitative and qualitative measures of the impact of same-sex marriage on Hawai`i’s economy and government. We find that marriage freedom is likely to lead to substantial increases in visitor arrivals, visitor spending, and state and county general excise tax revenues. We estimate that fewer than 100 spouses will be added as beneficiaries […]
Read MoreQ & A Summary: The Impact of Marriage Equality on Hawai′i’s Economy and Government
The legislature is currently proposing bills to extend the legal definition of marriage to include same sex couples, and, and to grant those couples the same rights and benefits of marriage that opposite sex couples currently receive. Sumner La Croix and Lauren Gabriel’s paper, “The Impact of Marriage Equality on Hawai’i’s Economy and Government” examines the potential […]
Read MoreQ & A: New Zealand’s big subsidies for the newest Hobbit film
1. IT’S A BIG WEEKEND COMING FOR THE FILM BUSINESS, WITH THE NEWEST FILM IN THE HOBBIT TRILOGY OPENING WORLDWIDE TODAY AND TOMORROW. Yes, the film is called The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and once again the esteemed New Zealand film director, Peter Jackson, is the creative genius behind this film. I watched the film’s trailer and […]
Read MoreQ & A: Walking the Tightropes in Europe and the United States
1. LAST NIGHT EUROPEAN FINANCE MINISTERS AND REPRESENTATIVES OF THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND MET IN BRUSSELS BUT COULDN’T REACH AGREEMENT ABOUT RELEASING SOME ALREADY PROMISED FINANCIAL AID TO GREECE. WHAT’S GOING ON IN EUROPE? That’s correct and what made the lack of agreement even more bewildering was that when the ministers entered the negotiations that […]
Read MoreHow China’s Approved Destination Status Policy Spurs and Hinders Chinese Travel Abroad
China’s “Approved Destination Status (ADS) policy allows citizens of mainland China to take pleasure trips abroad on group package tours to countries that have negotiated and implemented agreements with China. In this paper, we examine the reasons for this unique preferential and incremental travel liberalization system and how it affects mainland Chinese outbound pleasure travel.
Read MoreQ & A: Pacific Beat— U.S. and Europe Central Banks Announce Major Policy Changes
1. BOTH THE U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE AND THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK MADE BIG POLICY COMMITMENTS LAST WEEK. WHAT DID THE FED DO? The U.S. Federal Reserve launched a program known in the media as “QE3”. The program involves Fed purchase of long-term bonds and is designed to bring down long-term interest rates. The program announced […]
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