News and Announcements

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.

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. See more about this announcement at the UAA Archive. 

Come to ISER and hear Ken Meter, one of the most experienced food-systems analysts in the country, talk about his recent his recent study of the food economy in Fairbanks and nearby areas. He has studied food systems in 30 states, and has long advocated community-based food systems as one way for communities to sustain themselves over the long run. He is president of Crossroads Resource Center, a non-profit organization based in Minneapolis that works with communities around the country. 

In a new analysis, Matthew Berman and Jeffrey Armagost of ISER estimate that natural amenities—mainly salmon streams and lakes but also public parks and other protected areas—contribute roughly 37% of the total $7 billion in appraised value of vacant land and residential property in the Mat-Su Borough. The analysis is based on characteristics of residential parcels (both vacant land and land with cabins or houses) sold in the borough in 2009 and 2010. The work was supported by The Nature Conservancy, the Bullitt Foundation, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

A presentation by Scott Goldsmith, professor emeritus of economics at ISER, to Commonwealth North, examining whether the state government is saving enough of its petroleum wealth to sustain economic prosperity into the future—and if the state isn't saving enough, how it could. 

Download the PDF (3.5MB)

The estimated value of construction spending in Alaska in 2013 will be about $8.4 billion, up 8% from spending in 2012. That's according to the 2013 Alaska Construction Spending Forecast, prepared by Scott Goldsmith and Mouhcine Guettabi of ISER for the Associated General Contractors of Alaska. More spending in the oil and gas sector will account for most of the growth.

Gunnar Knapp, ISER director and professor of economics, recently talked to the Alaska Legislature about trends in Alaska and world salmon markets. Read his presentation to learn about how salmon markets are changing, what's driving the changes, and what the future might hold. 

Download the PDF of his presentation (4.4MB).

Joanna Karet is a new member of the research faculty at the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research, which was established as part of ISER in 2010. She will talk about her findings on whether attending two-year community colleges encourages or discourages students from going on to get four-year or advanced degrees. Existing qualitative research has indicated that attending community colleges causes many students to lower their goals. Dr.