Join us for a conversation with Todd Moss, editor of The Governor’s Solution and vice president of the Center for Global Development.  The Governor’s Solution features the firsthand account of Governor Jay Hammond describing the birth of the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend, which has been paid to each state resident every year since 1982.

This book is part of the Center for Global Development’s Oil-to-Cash initiative and includes recent scholarly work examining Alaska’s experience and discussing how other oil-rich societies, particularly Iraq, might apply some of the lessons.

When: Monday, June 3rd, 3:00pm – 5:00pm
Where: Room 307, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage

Come to ISER and hear Chris Southcott of Lakehead University in Ontario discuss the initial findings of the Resources and Sustainable Development in the Arctic project. That project is bringing together researchers and community representatives from northern Canada and other circumpolar areas to identify potential ways of improving the well-being of northern communities affected by Arctic resource development. Past resource development in the Arctic has often created social and economic challenges for northern communities but provided little benefit for them. Dr. Southcott is leading this international project.

When: Friday, May 31, 12 to 1
Where: ISER conference room, Diplomacy Building, fifth floor

Alaska relies much more on air and water transportation than the Lower 48 states do, so it’s especially vulnerable to the kinds of fuel price spikes that happened in mid-2008 and again between 2009 and 2010. A new report analyzes how higher fuel prices affect the costs of transportation in the state and work their way through the economy. It is the first study of this kind for Alaska. The authors are ISER economists Ginny Fay, Tobias Schwörer, Mouhcine Guettabi, and Jeffrey Armagost.

Read the summary (PDF, 1.1MB) or full report (PDF, 2.8MB)

A new report by ISER economists Gunnar Knapp, Mouhcine Guettabi, and Scott Goldsmith assesses the economic importance of the Bristol Bay salmon fishery, the world’s most valuable wild salmon fishery. Nearly half the wild sockeye salmon harvested worldwide come from Bristol Bay. The researchers found that as of 2010, Bristol Bay salmon created $1.5 billion in sales value across the United States—through harvesting, processing, and retailing of Bristol Bay salmon—and the additional economic effects of those activities. The fishery supports 12,000 seasonal jobs in fishing and processing in Alaska—the equivalent of 2,000 year-round jobs—and about 8,000 additional jobs, across multiple states and in multiple industries. The research was funded by the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association.

Download the summary (PDF, 372.3KB) or full report (PDF, 2.9MB).

In early April, Northrim Bank made a grant of $100,000 to ISER for its ongoing research initiative, Investing for Alaska’s Future. Northrim has now granted ISER a total of $1 million for this research, which is examining the importance of investment for building a strong Alaska economy. Scott Goldsmith, professor emeritus of economics at ISER, directs the initiative. The photo shows (left to right) Tom Case, UAA chancellor; Scott Goldsmith; Marc Langland, chairman, Northrim; and Joe Beedle, president, Northrim.

To learn more about Investing for Alaska and research so far, click here.