News and Announcements

New research from Bob Loeffler and Brett Watson examines the economic potential for Alaska's mineral industry. During an online overview of their research, Loeffler and Watson discussed Alaska's mining status in 2019, and then explained how they used an if-then framework to look ahead 20 years, rather than making predictions about specific projects.

Register for a March 14 noontime webinar on the Economic Potential of Alaska's Mineral Industry, presented by Bob Loeffler and Brett Waston, ISER researchers.

"We are in a perfect storm where we don't have enough teachers," said Dayna DeFeo, director of the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research (CAEPR). DeFeo and ISER director Diane Hirshberg discussed CAEPR's research on teacher turnover issues in rural Alaska with Steve Heimel, of KYUK Bethel.

A new report by Bob Loeffler and Steve Colt describes how commercial fishing, mining and tourism provide revenue to the State of Alaska – revenue that the legislature appropriates for services for Alaskans. It also describes what the state spends to manage and promote each industry.

Dr. Ralph Townsend presented information about Alaska's demographics and highlighted an ongoing downward trend in labor force participation. How long has this been happening, is Alaska different from the rest of the U.S., and what can the state do to address it?

All of the US is seeing significant demographic changes that will shape the workforce over the next 20 years, but these changes are especially significant in Alaska. Moreover, Alaska's population is strongly influenced by migration to and from Alaska. The shortage of workers during the Pandemic Recession may be in part a "tipping point" effect, where declines in the workforce that would have happened over several years were accelerated by COVID-19 changes. A February 2022 presentation by Dr. Ralph Townsend examined the implications of several demographic changes for the future of Alaska's workforce.

In a January 26 presentation, Dr. Mouhcine Guettabi describes the likely path of Alaska's economy in 2022, and includes a look back on the pandemic and pre-pandemic factors that have impacted the state's growth.

Join ISER on January 26, 2022 for a lunchtime presentation with insights from economist Mouhcine Guettabi. He will give an overview of how the economy has changed since the onset of the pandemic and a look at the opportunities and challenges ahead.

Dr. Diane Hirshberg, professor of education policy, has been selected as Director of the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER). Dr. Hirshberg is an 18-year veteran of UAA and ISER, and has served in leadership roles such as President of UAA’s faculty senate and advisor to the Chancellor on Arctic Research and Education. She was the founding director of the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research and is currently Vice-President Academic at the University of the Arctic.