How would a seasonal sales tax affect Alaska jobs? How does a smaller PFD impact Alaskans’ income? ISER economists modeled the outcomes of 11 different budget decisions facing lawmakers in Juneau. Watch our webinar to learn more: alaska.zoom.us/rec/share/d-...

🔊Tune in to Talk of Alaska *tonight* at 8 p.m. to hear legislators discuss Alaska's fiscal future, referencing recent research from ISER. (Or listen now online: alaskapublic.org/programs/tal...)

Reminder 📌Join our Wednesday webinar to hear ISER economists break down their recent report from Juneau. Register at: alaska.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

AC is now flying produce direct to three western hubs. ISER food economist Mike Jones discussed the shortened supply chain with KDLG in Dillingham. By skipping barges and avoiding Anchorage, the new effort can limit food and financial waste in rural Alaska.🍓🥝🍊 🎧Listen in:

Read about our “eagerly anticipated” presentation yesterday in Juneau, where ISER outlined Alaska’s budget options for a crowded room of policymakers.

✈️ISER is on the road in Juneau. Our faculty met with policymakers yesterday to discuss Alaska’s fiscal options, and the implications of potential budget decisions. Thanks to everyone who came to our presentation. We look forward to meeting with policymakers throughout the legislative session.

We’re hosting a webinar on Alaska’s fiscal future. ISER evaluated 11 budget options to determine effects on Alaska’s job, incomes, and more. 📌Join our webinar on Weds. Feb, 4 at 4 p.m. as ISER researchers break down the policy options facing lawmakers. Register: alaska.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

The Alaska Energy Data Gateway, an online data resource for energy and community data, was recently relaunched after a complete overhaul by ISER and the Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP) at @uafairbanks.bsky.social 🔌Explore your community’s energy use at: akenergygateway.alaska.edu

We’re excited to launch the redesigned Alaska Energy Data Gateway, alongside Alaska Center for Energy and Power. The easy-to-use tool provides quick access to #energy and socioeconomic data for every town in #Alaska. Explore your community’s rates and usage at: akenergygateway.alaska.edu

ISER has been a go-to resource for Alaska policymakers since 1961. For the latest example, check out our newest policy brief on the ramifications of retirement plans for Alaska educators.

Barbershops offer far more than a haircut. They also play a role in men’s health, especially for Black men often missed by public health messaging.

With #Greenland in the spotlight, ISER Director Diane Hirshberg talked to @alaskasnewssource.com about the geopolitical picture in the North, the importance of #Alaska, and the economic opportunities for Alaska's resource industry. 📺 Watch now: www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/01/14/a...

In #Greenland, it's a risky misconception that “rare minerals” are especially rare. Read more from ISER professor Bob Loeffler, who spoke to TIME magazine about American ambitions in #Greenland and the economic feasibility of mining on the island: time.com/7344877/trum...

🔥New research🔥 ISER’s Jennifer Schmidt joined a collaborative project to innovate fire breaks in the North. The team proposed four scenarios that safeguard communities from wildfire risk without sacrificing economic and cultural benefits of the land.

As Alaska’s legislators prepare to convene in Juneau, ISER is ready to provide policymakers with the economics of education.

It’s been an excellent year at ISER, and 2026 will be even bigger. ✨ We’re celebrating our 65th anniversary as a research center at @universityofalaska.bsky.social. We have lots of new research about #Alaska policy issues coming out shortly. AND we're hosting the 2026 #CUPSO conference.

Alaska Airlines Cargo briefly embargoed its freight shipments last week, causing disruptions during the industry's peak holiday season. Nome public radio station KNOM talked to ISER economist Mike Jones about what that means and why it matters for rural Alaska. Listen in: knom.org/2025/12/18/m...

Holiday dinners have very different price tags across Alaska. For example, ISER food systems economist Mike Jones recently found the standard holiday dinner costs 130% more in Nome than in Anchorage. 🎧 Listen in as Jones chats with @alaskapublic.org about food security in rural Alaska:

When ConocoPhillips announced layoffs, @alaskasnewssource.com turned to ISER. Listen in as professor Brett Watson explains the economic trends and developing technologies that shape industry on the North Slope: www.alaskasnewssource.com/2025/12/10/c...

17% of AK's teachers and 27% of principals left their districts last year. ISER's Dayna DeFeo and Noah Burke presented these findings and more in Juneau last week, and talked to KTOO about ISER’s ongoing research into teacher retention. 🎧Listen in @alaskapublic.org

❄️Reminder❄️Tomorrow at noon, ISER's Jennifer Schmidt will share results of our survey gauging local concerns over snow loads. Learn more and register: alaska.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

ISER's Jennifer Schmidt will share results of this snow load survey on Dec. 10 at noon. The local research is funded by the National Science Foundation. Join our free webinar on snow loads this Wednesday to learn more. Register: alaska.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

It’s Thanksgiving week, and we’re happy to share some words of gratitude for project partner Ed Graham. Ed is an undergraduate intern at @alaskagina.bsky.social and a participant on ISER's SAFRR Project. Read more about SAFRR and why we’re thankful for Ed: www.gi.alaska.edu/intranet/new...

You’ve probably heard 95% of Alaska’s purchased food is imported. But that number is both dubious and decades-old. Mike Jones, a food systems economist at ISER, talked to @alaskapublic.org station KHNS about alternate ways to explain and interpret Alaska’s unique food security. 📻 Listen in:

We're researching school lunches! 🍎 ISER weighed trays before and after lunch at local schools. When lunchtime was longer and recess was scheduled before lunch, students ate more of their meals, which improved nutrition and decreased food waste. Read more: resources.finalsite.net/images/v1761...

Alaska's investment in K-12 spending hasn't kept pace with inflation since 2017. When adjusted for cost of living, Alaska now invests 15% below the national average per student. See how Alaska stacks up in a presentation ISER prepared for legislators: www.akleg.gov/basis/get_do...

Typhoon Halong struck Alaska’s unorganized borough, a vast area with fewer levels of government to help coordinate emergency response. @alaskasnewssource.com interviewed ISER Director Diane Hirshberg on the history of the borough, and the economic challenges it presents in the recovery:

Residents in Unalaska are shifting their hunting, fishing, and berry-picking behaviors in response to contamination from Formerly Used Defense Sites. Project Manager Faith Green talked to KUCB public radio about the result's of ISER's subsistence survey in Unalaska. Read the full story below:

Skagway is just 13 nautical miles from Haines, but its groceries are frequently much more expensive. Why is that? And what makes Alaska’s food network so challenging? Mike Jones, a food systems economist at ISER, talked to @alaskapublic.org about grocery prices in Southeast.

📢❄️ Business owners, we need your help. ISER is researching the effect snow has on businesses and their buildings. Take a short survey about winter risks. Your responses could inform policies and programs that help Anchorage businesses respond to heavy snow events. Take the survey: lnkd.in/gzTdSM4s

“It’s feeling very quiet,” said Diane Hirshberg, ISER director & academic VP at an international network of schools called University of the Arctic. “We’re just in this weird land of uncertainty.” #ISER_Alaska #ArcticAmbassador #LisaMurkowski tinyurl.com/3bbjxtsc

It's National Alcohol & Other Drug-Related Birth Defects Awareness Week. Many people are surprised to learn what counts as a drink, and a glass of wine contains the same amount of alcohol as a shot of liquor. #BirthDefectsAwareness #PrenatalSafety #SafePregnancy #NDAFW #FASDNPN #ISER_Alaska #CBHRS

CBHRS and their partners share information on National Alcohol and Other Drug-Related Birth Defects Awareness Week. This week aims to educate the public about the risks of alcohol and drug use during pregnancy and how it can lead to birth defects. #ISER_Alaska #CBHRS

@akfoodpolicycouncil Staff, Ellen and Robbi, ISER’s Mike Jones and Faith Ozer Green, had a great week learning about rural food supply chains in Bethel. #foodsecurity #supplychain #breakupbash #bethel #afpc #ISER_Alaska

The federal government has been Alaska’s No. 1 industry, with 15,000 employees. #FederalJobLosses #ISER_Alaska #BrockWilson tinyurl.com/r663kry

On May 1, 2025, Commonwealth North, ISER, and Build Alaska’s Future co-hosted a virtual economic forum featuring ISER economists discussing Alaska’s economic trajectory in light of federal policy changes by the current administration. #ISER_Alaska #FederalSpending tinyurl.com/5wat84td

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR PROMOTION & TENURE #ISER_Alaska #JenniferSchmidt #BrettWatson #UniversityOfAlaska_ANC

Brett Watson is an assistant professor of economics at UAA. It took the economy longer to recover from the COVID pandemic, he said, but now, it’s the opposite. #ISER_Alaska #Economic #JobGrowth #BrettWatson tinyurl.com/2snm7k3v

Bella Block discusses her work studying the effectiveness of 'area to be avoided' policy on vessel traffic in the Bering Sea during the UAA Student Research and Creative Scholarship Showcase. #ISER_Alaska #UA_Anchorage #BellaBlock www.uaa.alaska.edu/news/archive...

“That has been a big question, a gaping question,” said Brock Wilson, assistant professor of economics at ISER. #ISER_Alaska #BrockWilson #FederalJobLoss alaskapublic.org/news/2025-04...

In the state with the fourth-largest proven reserves of oil and gas in the U.S., there is a looming energy shortage. #ISER_Alaska #AlaskaEnergy #AlaskaOil tinyurl.com/6pb9reuw

Critical Minerals in Alaska - Survey for AK Infrastructure Symposium - We are a cohort of scholars in the 2024-2026 Fulbright Arctic Initiative, a U.S. State Department funded effort to explore research and priority policy issues in the Arctic region. tinyurl.com/2hef7h5p

Join us on May 9, 2025 for BERING STRAIT VESSEL TRAFFIC: The Forefront of Change in the Arctic from 12PM-1PM, Rasmuson Hall: Room 220 Or via Zoom: bit.ly/4im5GQ3 #ISER_Alaska #Bering_Strait_Discussion #BellaBlock

Join us May 1, 2025, for a fast-paced and fascinating Economic Forum that dives into the outsized impact of shifting federal dollars on Alaska’s economy. #ISER_Alaska Please register here www.commonwealthnorth.org/events/#!eve...

Today is giving day at UAA, support the ISER Excellence fund at the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER). givingday.alaska.edu/amb/ISERexce... #49HoursforAlaska

Dr. Mike Jones spoke with Alaska’s House Transportation Committee about the effects of unreliable AWOS and ASOS systems throughout the state. #ISER_Alaska #ASOS #aviation #AWOS #FAA #MikeJonesUAA #SupplyChains iseralaska.org/2025/03/work...

Dr. Mike Jones spoke with Alaska’s House Transportation Committee about the effects of unreliable AWOS and ASOS systems throughout the state. #ISER_Alaska #ASOS #aviation #AWOS #FAA #MikeJonesUAA #SupplyChains iseralaska.org/2025/03/work...

On March 12, Brock Wilson presented to the House Judiciary Committee on federal employment in Alaska. #ISER_Alaska #BrockWilson #AK_Workforce #FederalWorkforce #EconomicContribution iseralaska.org/2025/03/econ...

A new study sheds light on the benefits and implications of the use of electric vehicles in rural Alaska. #ISER_Alaska #JenniferSchmidt #EVinAK #ACEP iseralaska.org/2025/03/new-...

ISER researchers Matt Berman and Dayna DeFeo have released a new report updating their previous analyses of Alaska’s current per-pupil education spending. #ISER_Alaska #DaynaDeFeo #MattBerman #K_12spending #education tinyurl.com/2h65djkj