A new analysis by Scott Goldsmith and Sohrab Pathan at the Institute of Social and Economic Research and Nathan Wiltse at the Cold Climate Housing Research Center looks at broad effects of the state Home Energy Rebate Program so far. That program rebates homeowners part of what they spend to make their houses more energy-efficient and less expensive to heat. The analysis was done for the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, which administers the program.

The researchers found, among other things, that the roughly 16,500 Alaska homeowners who have been through the program since 2008 are saving an estimated average of 26% on their heating bills, and that every $1 million in state spending for the program creates 12 Alaska jobs.

Download the full analysis (2.8MB).

After nearly a decade of explosive growth, federal spending in Alaska has turned flat. A new analysis of federal spending in Alaska by Scott Goldsmith, professor of economics at ISER, finds that except for temporary stimulus funds provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, federal spending in the state has been roughly the same for the past several years. The analysis discusses the composition of federal spending in Alaska, reviews stimulus spending, and provides examples of the importance of federal funds to the state economy. It also corrects a serious error in data reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce on federal spending in Alaska.

Download the PDF (950.8KB).

Jason Prno, a PhD candidate at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, will discuss why mineral developers today need “social licenses to operate.” A social license is society’s broad approval and acceptance of a mining project, and developing such a social license can help companies avoid the substantial problems that can result from community protest and disapproval. But there are complexities in establishing social licenses, and Jason Prno will discuss those in the context of mining case studies from the Yukon, Alaska, Peru, and Papua New Guinea.

When: Tuesday, April 24, 12 to 1
Where: Conference Room, Fifth Floor, Diplomacy Building, 4500 Diplomacy Drive. Free parking.

Download the PDF announcement (204KB).

Download the presentation (1.02MB).

Learn about recent trends in Alaska’s salmon markets, forces driving the dramatic recovery in salmon prices over the past decade, and factors likely to affect the future for Alaska salmon. That’s all in a recent presentation by Gunnar Knapp, professor of economics at ISER, at ComFish Alaska, the state’s largest commercial fisheries trade show, held annually in Kodiak.

See the full presentation (2.3MB).

On April 4, Northrim Bank made a gift of $125,000 to ISER for continued funding of the special research initiative, Investing for Alaska’s Future. That brings to more than $500,000 the total Northrim has provided ISER since 2004 for that research, which is directed by Scott Goldsmith, professor of economics. The work is intended to help Alaskans better understand the relationship between government policies and economic development, inform investment decisions, and monitor state economic and fiscal conditions.

To learn more about the initiative, click here.