News

Many of the global-scale environmental and social challenges humanity faces today are daunting and difficult for policymakers to address, but the regional landscape remains at a scale that makes it possible for regional governance systems to make meaningful change. In this presentation, Lael Parrott, a professor in sustainability at the University of British Columbia, explores the relationship between complexity, resilience, and sustainability at the landscape scale.

When: Thursday, September 22, 12 to 1
Where: ISER Conference Room, Third Floor, 1901 Bragaw St.

Dr. Parrott’s visit to Anchorage is hosted by UAA’s Complex Systems Initiative, and is co-sponsored by UAA Honors College and ISER. She will deliver the Helen and Lee Gorsuch Lecture, “Slow Down and Save the Whales,” Thursday, September 22, at 7 p.m. in the UAA Arts Building. For more information go to: http://greenandgold.uaa.alaska.edu/blog/tag/lael-parrott/

Note: This presentation will not be recorded or live streamed.

Following a nationwide search, Dr. Ralph Townsend has been named to lead ISER beginning in August. Dr. Townsend has nearly thirty years of experience in higher education and government, including research, administration and teaching.

Read more about Ralph and his appointment.

Total construction spending in Alaska will be about $7.3 billion in 2016, down 18% from last year’s $8.9 billion. That drop can be traced to the recent steep decline in oil prices, after several years of very high prices. Those high oil prices had stimulated construction spending throughout the state economy, especially in the oil and gas sector and in state government. Those are among the findings of the new 2016 Construction Spending Forecast, prepared by Scott Goldsmith and Pamela Cravez of ISER for the Associated General Contractors of Alaska.

Many sectors of the economy will see drops in construction spending, particularly the oil and gas sector, which had record spending in 2015. But spending in some sectors will be up or the same as last year. Spending for national defense projects will be up 27%, and spending by basic industries other than oil and gas (tourism, seafood, air cargo, and timber) will be up 39%. Spending for highways and roads will be the same as in 2015, as will spending by the mining industry.

Download the report, 2016 Alaska Construction Spending Forecast (PDF, 1.6MB). If you have questions, get in touch with Scott Goldsmith, professor emeritus of economics, at osgoldsmith@uaa.alaska.edu.

Gunnar Knapp, ISER’s director since 2013 and a professor of economics at ISER for 35 years, has announced he will retire from the University of Alaska Anchorage in June 2016. But after retiring he plans to work part-time with ISER, in particular continuing his research and public outreach to help Alaskans understand the big fiscal challenges the state faces. He will also continue his decades-long research on Alaska’s salmon industry and salmon markets, which has earned him an international reputation as a fisheries economist. 

To help Alaskans better understand the big budget problems the state government faces, Alaska Common Ground and ISER hosted a public forum on September 19. The forum introduced a new budget-balancing game, and it included a group of Alaskans presenting their own budget proposals, other Alaskans discussing potential economic effects of reduced state spending, and a panel of policymakers talking about factors that will influence future budget decisions.

Forum handouts
Alaska’s Fiscal Situation in Four Graphs (PDF, 484KB)

Brad Keithley's “Sustainable Budget Proposal” (PDF, 140KB)
Gary Wilken's “Everyone Helps a Little: A Five-Year Fiscal Plan” (PDF, 132KB)
John Havelock's “The Hat Trick” (PDF, 114KB)
Liz Medicine Crow's “Progress Will Come by Investing in Our Own” (PDF, 129KB)

Watch forum videos courtesy of 360 North and Alaska Public Media.

ISER and Alaska Common Ground are sponsoring a free public forum on Alaska’s fiscal and economic future on September 19. But in advance of that forum, Gunnar Knapp, ISER’s director, and Cliff Groh, the chair of Alaska Common Ground, talked at ISER, previewing some of the material they plan to present. They encouraged those at the talk to ask questions and offer suggestions for improvement.

Download the handouts (PDF, 341KB) from this lunchtime talk.

To help people better understand the fiscal challenges Alaska's state government faces, Scott Goldsmith, professor emeritus of economics at ISER, has created an interactive planning model Alaskans and others can download and use to investigate for themselves the implications of different assumptions about state revenues and fiscal policies. Before opening the spreadsheet, users must first "enable macros."

Download the model (Macro-enabled Excel File (.xlsm), 4.54MB)