Scott Goldsmith, professor emeritus of economics at ISER, has updated his estimate of how much Alaska's state government can afford to spend each year, without risking sudden big budget deficits and economic hardships for Alaskans, as it deals with declining oil revenues.
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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)
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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).
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Alaska's state government can afford to spend about $5.5 billion in fiscal year 2014 (July 2013 to June 2014). That's the most recent estimate of the level of General Fund spending the state can sustain over the long run, from a new paper by Scott Goldsmith, professor emeritus of economics at ISER. The $5.5 billion figure is based on the state's current petroleum nest egg of about $149 billion. The nest egg is a combination of state financial assets (the Permanent Fund and cash reserves) and the value of petroleum still in the ground.
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As part of the Alaska Miners Association convention, on Tuesday November 8th, Bob Loeffler is teaching a 1-day short course labelled "Mining 101: An Overview of the Mining Industry." It is designed to provide a basic overview of the industry — what a mine is, property rights, permitting, environmental issues, economics, etc.
If you are interested, check out the flyer announcing the course. You may sign up on the website indicated on the flyer. The cost is $150 (or $175 if you register after October 15th), or $25 for students.
*Note: Look for "SHORT COURSE #3."