Economic Analysis of Hawaii

 Hawaii, with an area of 28,313 sq. km (10,932 sq. mi.), is the 43rd largest
state in the U.S.; 6.9% of the land is owned by the federal government. It
consists mainly of the Hawaiian Islands, eight main islands and 124 islets,
reefs, and shoals. The major islands in order of size are Hawaii, Maui, Oahu,
Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, Nihau, and Kahoolawe. Population growth has increased
by 80,000 persons over the past five years. Demographics show a large number
of Hispanic origin: Asian Hispanics are the most populated with white Hispanic
and Asian non-Hispanic following. Hawaii's economy has been long dominated by
plantation agriculture and military spending. As agriculture has declined in
importance, the economy has diversified to encompass a large tourist business
and a growing manufacturing industry.
 Hawaii's economy has changed drastically since statehood. In 1958, defense,
sugar, and pineapple were the primary economic activities, accounting for 40%
of Gross State Product (GSP). In contrast, visitor-related expenditures stood
at just over 4% of Hawaii's GSP prior to statehood. Today the positions are
reversed; sugar and pineapple constitute about 1% of GSP, defense accounts for
just under 11%, while visitor-related spending comes close to 24% of Hawaii's
GSP.
 The movement toward a service- and trade-based economy becomes even more
apparent when considering the distribution of Hawaii's jobs across sectors.
The share of the economy's jobs accounted for by manufacturing and agriculture
have declined steadily since 1959 and each currently makes up less than 4% of
total jobs in the economy. At the same time, the shares of jobs in wholesale
and ret ...