Economy

...Hawaii residents have been moving away from the islands in droves in recent years; in fiscal 2017, more than 13,000 people departed — the highest negative net migration ever....

...Recently, we have been getting lots of news about our economy here in the islands, and none of it has been good....

...the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii “quietly chips away at the stone of economic issues in Hawaii”....

...conditions have shown little to no improvements in more recent years, with the state’s rank for this domain slipping from 30 in 2018 to 34 in 2019....

...I just gave Hawaii the best economic outlook in the country, and all it took was a few mouse clicks....

...For decades now, the young ones have heard this message loud and clear....

...low tech, low patents, low innovation....

...Thanks to the ultimate resource: the human mind....

...DOTAX justified the shroud of darkness surrounding its revenue projections with a theory, derived from federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) law, called “deliberative process privilege.”....

...lots of jobs sit unfilled as Hawaii has the 5th-lowest avg starting salaries (adjusted for cost of living) in the USA....

...DBEDT expects that Hawaii’s economy will continue the slower growth for the next few years between 1.2 and 1.4 percent....

...each has seen a falloff in tourism activity and a slowing of employment growth in a number of sectors....

...The number of visitor days remains below last year’s peak, with more worrying signs from falling visitor spending. Job growth has largely stalled and income gains have receded....

...Gross Domestic Product by State: Fourth Quarter and Annual 2018....

...Try out the “adjust performance” feature.  You can abolish the GE Tax and cut other taxes, eliminate public employees, enact a right to work law, raise or lower the minimum wage, and see how each move affects Hawaii’s economic performance....

...Hawaii policymakers cannot mandate people into prosperity....

...Economist Ken Schoolland and host Keli'i Akina discuss how economics and liberty interact as they explore a variety of public policy issues that impact our lives....

...Hawaii economic growth well below U.S. average over the past 10 years....

...Tourism challenges were not limited to the aftermath of flood and fire, but also reflected weakening in some key markets and a falloff in spending. At home, population growth has been negative for the past two years, weighing on demand....

...HLPA Predicts Residential and Commercial Building Increase in 2019....

...instead of making resources scarcer, population growth has gone hand in hand with greater resource abundance....

...Senate President Ron Kouchi talked about how his “greatest passion was to create a Hawaii where each and every one one of our children could come home.”....

...Hawaii suffered the second-largest construction employment decline in USA....

...The economic boom of the last few years allowed them to continue spending at high levels, and many of them would like to keep it that way....

...Well, it’s Christmas season again, so here is what I drafted recently for Santa to consider....

...Expanding economic freedom in Hawaii is the first step....

...record-high visitor numbers, record-low unemployment, and ongoing—if unimpressive—income gains....

...direct spending by foreign students in Hawaii was $241.5 million for the calendar year 2017.  This estimate includes the total living expenses and institutional tuition and fees....

...DBEDT revised its projection on Hawaii’s economic growth downward to 1 percent for 2018 from 1.5 percent....

...second only to California....

...The Economic Freedom of North America 2018 outlines Hawaii's statistical paradox....

...Following two years of decline, the pace of building in Hawaii has stabilized. The value of construction permits is posting healthy gains across all sub-sectors this year....

...Retail Sales Workers topped the list at 42,445 workers in 2016, which accounted for 5.9 percent of Hawaii’s civilian workforce; followed by Food and Beverage Serving Workers at 40,775, 5.7 percent ... Construction Trade Workers ranked third place 34,137, 4.8 percent....

...Global tourism continues to power forward, and there remains a healthy pipeline of construction work. And even with the recent labor market weakness, Hawaii continues to enjoy its lowest unemployment in many years....

...Hawaii has the most expensive real estate in the country. However, it also has one of the most affluent populations in the country....

...Hawaii’s economic growth during the first quarter of 2018 was at 1 percent and the Honolulu consumer inflation was at 1.6 percent for the first half of 2018. Both numbers came out much lower than projected....

...The report projects that Hawaii’s economy, measured by real gross domestic product (GDP), will grow at 1.7 percent per year between 2016 and 2045....

...What do volcanoes, trade wars, and housing bubbles have to do with each other? These are just a few of the economic topics with which many of Hawaii's policymakers are woefully unfamiliar....

...The 2018 Manufacturing & Logistics Report Card shows how each state ranks among its peers in several categories that are of particular interest to site selection experts for the manufacturing and logistics industries....

...how to ease barriers to public-private partnerships in the state, and the benefits that could result if done right....

...Hawaii does not perform well on the annual EFNA Index, ranking 45th out of the 50 states in terms of economic freedom....

...2018’s Best & Worst State Economies....

...The value of Google Search and AdWords for businesses is the profit they receive from clicks on search results and ads minus their cost of advertising, estimated as $8 profit for every $1 spent....

...Tourism keeps surprising to the upside, even as visitor numbers strain infrastructure and communities....

...lowest unemployment AND lowest starting salaries....

...Keli'i Akina and Professor Schoolland demonstrate how free market thinking is good for the economy and our personal lives....

...America’s transformation is more than skin-deep — it’s economic, too....

...Tourism has surged again in the first part of 2018, extending one of the longest periods of sustained visitor growth. Construction, while volatile month to month, also remains on a high plateau....

...Hawaii lost 1.9 percent of construction jobs between February and March....

....Grassroot president says high taxes, regulations discourage higher-paying jobs....