Investing for Alaska's Future

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. 

Think about this: if oil had never been discovered on the North Slope, Alaska's economy today would be about half as big. And to keep the economy healthy as time goes on, Alaska needs new oil production: nothing else—including North Slope natural gas—can replace oil in the state's economy. These are the findings of a new paper by Scott Goldsmith, professor of economics at ISER.