Economic Development in Hawai’i: Building a Resilient and Innovative Island Economy

This book offers a bold reimagining of Hawai’i’s economy by exploring how localized innovation, community-led tourism, and regenerative development models can create a more resilient, equitable future. Targeted toward scholars, policy makers, and practitioners in economics, sustainability, and tourism, this book examines the limitations of Hawai’i’s historical dependence on mass tourism and proposes pathways to diversify economic opportunity while protecting cultural and ecological resources. Key topics include destination management strategies, agritourism, regenerative tourism, the role of Native Hawaiian stewardship, and the integration of microeconomic theory into policymaking. Drawing on recent data, field case studies, and emerging public-private collaborations, this book addresses a central question: How can Hawai’i’s shift from an extractive economic model to one that prioritizes community well-being and long-term sustainability?

The resulting book connects academic insight with grassroots innovation to help inform Hawai’i’s economic transformation in the mid-2020s.

Patricia Yu is Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Hawai’i-West O’ahu (UHWO). She has been teaching a course called Hawai’i’s Economy at UHWO for over a decade, in addition to courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics, and environmental economics. Her long-standing commitment to studying Hawai’i’s unique economic structure is reflected both in her teaching and research. Yu’s research focuses on spatial econometrics and semiparametric techniques, particularly in estimating the valuation of bundled goods and environmental amenities/disamenities through hedonic pricing models. Her work emphasizes applications in regional economics and Hawai’i’s economy, addressing issues such as land use, housing markets, and case studies on environmental disasters such as the Maui wildfires and the Red Hill fuel leak. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and featured in conference proceedings, including the Hawai’i International Conference on Education, the Global Conference on Business and Finance, and the Eurasia Business and Economics Society. She has also presented her research at the annual meeting of the Hawai’i Economic Association and regularly attends conferences and seminars related to regional economic development. Her current research interests include housing affordability, environmental valuation, and the future of Hawai’i’s economy. Yu earned her PhD in economics from Northern Illinois University.