Hawaiʻi residents have long struggled with housing availability and affordability. Median home prices in the islands have climbed beyond middle-class reach with many local households paying an unsustainable portion of their income to housing.
In an effort to present solutions, the University of Hawaiʻi Better Tomorrow Speaker Series will feature a live online forum with Stanford Graduate School of Business economist Rebecca Diamond, UH Economic Research Organization (UHERO) Executive Director Carl Bonham, UH Public Policy Center (PPC) Director Colin Moore and Hawaiʻi State Rep. Nadine Nakamura.
The livestream conversation, How to renovate housing policy in a way that really works, will be held on Tuesday, May 11 at 8 a.m. The forum will tackle effective strategies, economic research of similar markets, and critical steps to consider during the post-COVID economy.
Diamond, an associate professor of economics at Stanford has published extensive research on rent control, affordable housing development, income redistribution and the effects of foreclosure.
“Rebecca Diamond is an original and creative thinker, one of the most brilliant economists working on housing,” said Philip Garboden, Hawaii Community Reinvestment Corporation Professor in affordable housing at UH’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning (DURP). “Her insights on new research can help craft effective remedies that will work here.”
“Housing affordability and availability is one of the most serious challenges we face in Hawaiʻi,” noted Denise Konan, dean of the College of Social Sciences and professor of economics. “It’s critical that we advance solutions best supported by evidence, so we’re pleased to be hosting this event to help sort through the best ideas for Hawaiʻi.”
The livestream event is open to the public. (Submit questions and register.)
The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series is a joint venture of UH Mānoa, Hawaiʻi Community Foundation and Kamehameha Schools. Event sponsors include the UH Mānoa College of Social Sciences, Scholars Strategy Network, UHERO, UH Mānoa Department of Economics, UH Mānoa DURP and UH PPC.
This series is an example of UH Mānoa’s goal of Excellence in Research: Advancing the Research and Creative Work Enterprise (PDF), one of four goals identified in the 2015–25 Strategic Plan (PDF), updated in December 2020.
