UHERO Associates

Research Associates

Byron Gangnes is Director of UHERO's Hawaii Research Group and an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990. Gangnes was a visiting scholar at the University of Toronto during Fall 1997. Gangnes's research interests are in the fields of international finance, international industrial organization, and econometric modeling. He has written extensively on US-Japan trade policy and Japanese macroeconomic adjustment. Gangnes is the editor (with Sumner La Croix and Magnus Blomstrom) of Japan’s New Economy: Continuity and Change in the 21st Century, Oxford University Press, 2001.

Christopher Grandy is an Associate Professor of Public Administration at the University of Hawaii (Manoa). He received a doctorate in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley and was Assistant Professor of Economics at Barnard College, Columbia University and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. From 1995 to 2001, Grandy served as Economist with the Research and Economic Analysis Division of the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. In that capacity he conducted economic analyses of tax, technology, construction, and other issues facing Hawaii's economy. He was also heavily involved in the Department's economic forecasting efforts. Grandy has published a number of academic articles in economic history, law and economics, and finance, and he authored a book on economics and corporation law at the turn of the 20th century. Grandy's latest book, Hawaii Becalmed: Economic Lessons of the 1990s, was published in September 2002 by University of Hawaii Press.

Denise Eby Konan is Director of UHERO's International Research Group and an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Since Fall 2001, Dr. Konan has been serving as Interim Assistant Vice Chancellor for the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She is a consultant for the International Trade Division of the World Bank. Konan received her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in 1993. She is an expert in international economics and computational analysis. Her current research focuses on policy analysis of direct foreign investment, the world trading system, and regional integration agreements. Among her recent publications are articles in the Journal of Public Economics, Review of International Economics, Review of Development Economics, and World Economy. Konan is currently working on developing a simulation model of the Hawaii economy for UHERO.

Sumner J. La Croix is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1981. La Croix's research is focused on the economic history and current development of Asia-Pacific economies. Previous research covered land issues in Hawaii and Asia; intellectual property disputes between the US and Asia; the Asian aviation industry; growth in Asia; and foreign investment in China. La Croix's current projects include a book on the future of Japan's economy, and a chapter for the millennial edition of Historical Statistics of the United States.

Leroy Laney is a Professor of Economics and Finance at Hawaii Pacific University. He joined HPU after broad ranging experience in central banking, private banking, national government, and academia. From 1990 to 1998, he was Chief Economist of First Hawaiian Bank, where his position involved advising senior management, writing and editing the Bank's economic publications, and serving as the Bank's spokesman on economic affairs to the business community and the media. He has served previously as an economist on the staff of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, and also in the Office of the International Monetary Research at the U.S. Treasury. At the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, his responsibilities included writing for and editing the Bank's publications, an advisory role to the Bank President on Monetary Policy, and frequent public speaking engagements and media contact. Dr. Laney received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in 1976.

PingSun Leung is a Professor and Researcher in the Department of Biosystems Engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He received his Ph.D. in agricultural systems analysis from the University of Hawaii in 1977. Leung's current research is focused on the economics and management of aquaculture and fisheries. He has just completed a fish marketing study for the Mekong River Commission. Currently, he serves as the co-editor of an international journal Aquaculture Economics and Management. Among his recent publications are articles in Marine Resource Economics, Aquaculture, Aquaculture Research, Agricultural Economics, Fisheries Research, and The Journal of Consumer Affairs.

James Mak is Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He received his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1970. Mak's research is focused on tourism in Hawaii and other Asia-Pacific economies. His current research focuses on government and private promotion of tourism and the impact of Japan's aging population on future international travel. Mak is the co-editor of Japan: Why It Works, Why It Doesn't, University of Hawaii Press, 1998. He is currently working on a report for UHERO examining options and prospects for future Japanese investment in Hawaii.

James Roumasset is Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1973. Roumasset's research interests are environmental economics, pollution control, water management, and development policy for agrarian economies. He recently completed a National Science Foundation grant on global warming and sustainable development. He is currently working with the state's Natural Resources Economics Taskforce on environmental evaluation. Recent articles include "Endogenous Substitution among Energy Resources and Global Warming," Journal of Political Economy, December 1997 and "Optimal Management of Renewable and Replaceable Resource: The Case of Coastal Groundwater," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, November 1997.

Graduate Research Associates

Allison Ting Zhou is A.B.D. in Economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She received her M.A. in Economics from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1999. Zhou's research interests includes applied dynamic econometric analysis, regional econometric modeling, tourism economics and the Hawaii economy. Zhou is currently working on a Bayesian vector autoregression short-term forecasting model for the State of Hawaii. Other work in progress includes a cointegrating vector autoregression model for the tourism sector in Hawaii and "Sustainable Growth with Environmental Spillovers: A Ramsey-Koopmans Approach" with Dr. Roumasset and Dr. Endress.

Ari Van Assche is a Ph.D. Candidate Economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He received his MA in Chinese Studies in 1999 from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.
Van Assche's current research focuses on international trade in Asia's information technology sector.

	Research Associates


Byron Gangnes is Director of UHERO's Hawaii Research Group and an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990. Gangnes was a visiting scholar at the University of Toronto during Fall 1997. Gangnes's research interests are in the fields of international finance, international industrial organization, and econometric modeling. He has written extensively on US-Japan trade policy and Japanese macroeconomic adjustment. Gangnes is the editor (with Sumner La Croix and Magnus Blomstrom) of Japan’s New Economy: Continuity and Change in the 21st Century, Oxford University Press, 2001. Christopher Grandy is an Associate Professor of Public Administration at the University of Hawaii (Manoa). He received a doctorate in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley and was Assistant Professor of Economics at Barnard College, Columbia University and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. From 1995 to 2001, Grandy served as Economist with the Research and Economic Analysis Division of the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. In that capacity he conducted economic analyses of tax, technology, construction, and other issues facing Hawaii's economy. He was also heavily involved in the Department's economic forecasting efforts. Grandy has published a number of academic articles in economic history, law and economics, and finance, and he authored a book on economics and corporation law at the turn of the 20th century. Grandy's latest book, Hawaii Becalmed: Economic Lessons of the 1990s, was published in September 2002 by University of Hawaii Press. Denise Eby Konan is Director of UHERO's International Research Group and an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Since Fall 2001, Dr. Konan has been serving as Interim Assistant Vice Chancellor for the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She is a consultant for the International Trade Division of the World Bank. Konan received her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in 1993. She is an expert in international economics and computational analysis. Her current research focuses on policy analysis of direct foreign investment, the world trading system, and regional integration agreements. Among her recent publications are articles in the Journal of Public Economics, Review of International Economics, Review of Development Economics, and World Economy. Konan is currently working on developing a simulation model of the Hawaii economy for UHERO. Sumner J. La Croix is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1981. La Croix's research is focused on the economic history and current development of Asia-Pacific economies. Previous research covered land issues in Hawaii and Asia; intellectual property disputes between the US and Asia; the Asian aviation industry; growth in Asia; and foreign investment in China. La Croix's current projects include a book on the future of Japan's economy, and a chapter for the millennial edition of Historical Statistics of the United States. Leroy Laney is a Professor of Economics and Finance at Hawaii Pacific University. He joined HPU after broad ranging experience in central banking, private banking, national government, and academia. From 1990 to 1998, he was Chief Economist of First Hawaiian Bank, where his position involved advising senior management, writing and editing the Bank's economic publications, and serving as the Bank's spokesman on economic affairs to the business community and the media. He has served previously as an economist on the staff of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, and also in the Office of the International Monetary Research at the U.S. Treasury. At the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, his responsibilities included writing for and editing the Bank's publications, an advisory role to the Bank President on Monetary Policy, and frequent public speaking engagements and media contact. Dr. Laney received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in 1976. PingSun Leung is a Professor and Researcher in the Department of Biosystems Engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He received his Ph.D. in agricultural systems analysis from the University of Hawaii in 1977. Leung's current research is focused on the economics and management of aquaculture and fisheries. He has just completed a fish marketing study for the Mekong River Commission. Currently, he serves as the co-editor of an international journal Aquaculture Economics and Management. Among his recent publications are articles in Marine Resource Economics, Aquaculture, Aquaculture Research, Agricultural Economics, Fisheries Research, and The Journal of Consumer Affairs. James Mak is Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He received his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1970. Mak's research is focused on tourism in Hawaii and other Asia-Pacific economies. His current research focuses on government and private promotion of tourism and the impact of Japan's aging population on future international travel. Mak is the co-editor of Japan: Why It Works, Why It Doesn't, University of Hawaii Press, 1998. He is currently working on a report for UHERO examining options and prospects for future Japanese investment in Hawaii. James Roumasset is Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1973. Roumasset's research interests are environmental economics, pollution control, water management, and development policy for agrarian economies. He recently completed a National Science Foundation grant on global warming and sustainable development. He is currently working with the state's Natural Resources Economics Taskforce on environmental evaluation. Recent articles include "Endogenous Substitution among Energy Resources and Global Warming," Journal of Political Economy, December 1997 and "Optimal Management of Renewable and Replaceable Resource: The Case of Coastal Groundwater," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, November 1997. Graduate Research Associates Allison Ting Zhou is A.B.D. in Economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She received her M.A. in Economics from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1999. Zhou's research interests includes applied dynamic econometric analysis, regional econometric modeling, tourism economics and the Hawaii economy. Zhou is currently working on a Bayesian vector autoregression short-term forecasting model for the State of Hawaii. Other work in progress includes a cointegrating vector autoregression model for the tourism sector in Hawaii and "Sustainable Growth with Environmental Spillovers: A Ramsey-Koopmans Approach" with Dr. Roumasset and Dr. Endress. Ari Van Assche is a Ph.D. Candidate Economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He received his MA in Chinese Studies in 1999 from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. Van Assche's current research focuses on international trade in Asia's information technology sector.