Economy / Fiscal Policy

Within the first few weeks after the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) is paid, substance-abuse incidents increase, while property crime decreases. On an annual basis, however, changes in criminal activity associated with the payment are small and estimated costs are a small portion of the total payment, according to a new analysis of the PFD by Brett Watson, Mouhcine Guettabi, and Matthew Reimer of the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER). 

Construction spending in Alaska this year will be around $7.2 billion, up 10% from last year. Excluding an estimated $200 million in spending attributable to the 2018 earthquake, spending will be $7 billion, up 8% from last year. The increase is primarily due to an increase in petroleum spending which will grow 13% to $2.7 billion and national defense spending which will also grow 13% to $700 million.

Dr. Ralph Townsend, ISER director, will discuss how changes in Alaska’s demographics will impact workforce and health care costs at the annual Northrim Bank Lecture series at Mat-Su College Tuesday, February 12 at 7p.m.  

Using the latest research and data on Alaska demographics, health care costs, and employment, Townsend will provide insights into challenges facing Alaska in the next decades. 

When: Tuesday, November 13, 12-1
Where: ISER Conference Room, Third Floor, 1901 Bragaw Street, Suite 301

Uncertainty is an unavoidable and challenging part of assessing impacts of future development activities. It is also vital to providing transparency in the decision-making process. Dr. Sanne Vammen Larsen, a visiting Fulbright scholar at ISER, will introduce the topic and draw on research results from Denmark and Greenland to shed light on the role of uncertainty in impact assessment, its implementation in practice and the implications for various stakeholders.

Dr. Larsen, a member of the Fulbright Arctic Initiative, is an Associate Professor at the Danish Centre for Environmental Assessment at Aalborg University in Denmark. Her research is focused on environmental assessment and planning mainly in Denmark and Greenland. She is spending six weeks with ISER conducting research for an Alaska case study on how uncertainty is dealt with, including the integration of local, indigenous knowledge. Part of her her Fulbright Arctic Initiative cohort is looking at the integration of local knowledge in decision-making surrounding sustainable economies.

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

ISER's Mouhcine Guettabi  told attendees at  the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce's Fall Forum in Fairbanks, "The future of Alaska economic development will rest on the success of the traditional basic sectors and the pursuit of new opportunities.