Sumner La Croix
Q & A: S&P’s downgrade of its rating for U.S. Treasury bonds
1. S&P’S DOWNGRADE: HOW DOES IT CHANGE THINGS? S&P’s downgrade of the US long term credit rating is a landmark historical event for the US. The ratings downgrade–from AAA to AA+– tells potential buyers of US government bonds that the risk of the US government defaulting on its $14 trillion debt has risen substantially. And […]
Read MoreQ & A: U.S. Employment, Unemployment… and the Stock Market
1. WHAT WERE THE RESULTS OF THE JULY EMPLOYMENT REPORT? Non-farm employment increased by 117,000 jobs while private employment increased by 154,000 jobs. Employment counts for May and June were revised upwards. The U.S. unemployment rate fell from 9.2% to 9.1%, and average hourly earnings rose to $23.10. 2. WHICH SECTORS ARE RESTRAINING JOB GROWTH? The State/Local Government sector is still cutting spending and jobs to balance […]
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 MoreThe Impact of Civil Unions on Hawaii’s Economy and Government
This report provides quantitative and qualitative measures of the impact of same-sex civil unions on the Hawai`i economy, Hawai`i businesses, and the State of Hawai`i’s budget. More specifically, we examine the effect of civil unions on tourism arrivals to Hawai`i; state government revenues and expenditures; employer provision of health insurance to civil union partners and […]
Read MoreUHERO faculty to speak at public fora
Dr. Sumner Lacroix and Dr. Carl Bonham will share their thoughts and outlook for Hawaii’s economy at two separate events on Thursday and Friday. Sumner La Croix, Professor, Dept. of Economics, and Research Fellow, University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, will present a public lecture on the future of Hawaii’s economy at 7 pm on […]
Read MoreInsights on PBS: Reforming Wall Street
UHERO Research Fellow Professor Sumner LaCroix will join Gary Fujitani, Dominic Griffin III, Matt Pippin and moderator Dan Boylan to discuss financial market reform. Live: Thursday July 8, 2010 at 7:30 PM
Read MoreThe Dog ATE my Economics Homework! Estimates of the Average Effect of Treating Hawaii’s Public High School Students with Economics
Abstract: Hawaii is one of 27 states that do not require testing of public high school students regarding their understanding of economics. We report results for the first economics test administered to a large sample of students in Hawaii public high schools during the Spring 2004 semester. Our analysis focuses on evaluating the impact of […]
Read MoreSmall State, Giant Tax Credit: Hawaii’s Leap into High Technology Development
This paper chronicles the evolution of Hawaii’s high technology tax credits, describes their provisions and the ensuing problems in attempting to ascertain whether or not they have achieved the results desired by lawmakers who passed them, and offers lessons that other states can use when designing their own business investment tax credit programs.
Read MoreEconomic Education’s Roller Coaster Ride In Hawaii, 1965-2006
Abstract: During the early 1960s a few of Hawaii’s public high schools began to offer economics courses, and they gradually became popular social studies electives. By 1999, over 46% of public high school seniors completed a one-semester course in economics. From this peak, enrollment rates would plummet to just 11% in 2003, before rebounding to […]
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