Tech View: Astronomy worth $221M to Hawaii’s economy annually

Despite the earnest and dedicated outreach efforts of the local and global scientific community, the public’s understanding of astronomy remains limited, and the relationship between the two is especially complicated in Hawaii.

The state Legislature will vote this week on whether to transfer management of Mauna Kea from the University of Hawaii to an independent authority, an important step in balancing the many interests on the mountain, including Native Hawaiians.

Meanwhile, a new report published by the UH Economic Research Organization puts some hard numbers behind the case for astronomy’s value to the state.

In addition to providing Hawaii incredible educational opportunities and workforce development, the report demonstrates that astronomy provides exactly the sort of nontourism economic diversification we should support.

UHERO says the field of astronomy has an approximate annual impact of $221 million on Hawaii’s economy. This includes $110 million in local astronomy expenditures, $68 million in labor income and $10 million in state taxes, generated in part by 1,300 jobs statewide.

This latest report, which used 2019 as a model year before the COVID-19 pandemic, is an update to a study from 2014. Since then, astronomy expenditures grew by $11 million, and total impact grew by $32 million.

Part of the reason for the increase is new facilities: the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope on Haleakala and two telescopes for the NASA­-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-­Impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS.

But the more important reason is the detailed analysis of “spillover effects”: knowledge, expertise and technology benefits that affect the wider community.

“All the future knowledge created when we invest in research and development is the main benefit of publicly funded research — especially more scientific or blue-sky-type research, which is certainly where astronomy fits,” explained UHERO researcher Steven Bond-Smith.

“I felt that it was really important to tell the story about these benefits that aren’t really captured by the amount of money that is spent each year,” he said.

In addition to accounting for the long-term cycle of knowledge and value creation, the report included examples of how astronomy has created opportunities for others in the state, including suppliers and manufacturers.

“Manufacturing is something that’s really difficult to do in Hawaii,” he said. “The fact that we host astronomy allows Hawaii to also host this high-value precision-­manufacturing industry, too.”

“It was great to see mentions of several local high-tech businesses that spun up from UH astronomy over the years,” said Doug Simons, director of the UH Institute for Astronomy. “Those narratives help explain how astronomy goes beyond the numbers and impacts small businesses across the islands.”

The UHERO report also noted that astronomy’s impact is “equivalent to 78% of the total farming output statewide.”

“I think many people have a sense of how important farming is to the state’s economy, so that stat helps convey the economic importance of astronomy in relatable terms,” Simons said.

“When people talk about removing all the observatories, they should realize that would have the same economic impact of closing all the coffee, banana and other farms,” said IfA associate astronomer Roy Gal. “Can they imagine doing that?”

Gal also said the report proves that astronomy is a reliable economic generator for Hawaii, especially when compared with weather —and pest-prone agriculture and pandemic-afflicted tourism.

“The fact that the astronomy sector’s economic contribution has remained steady over the past decade, and even grown some, is a good demonstration of how it is really a stable economic component,” he said.

Finally, the report emphasized the importance of place in developing a local research sector.

“Some industries have knowledge that transfers easily between places, so they move away very easily,” Bond-Smith said. “Other industries are much more bound to a place.

“Those are actually the types of industries that I think Hawaii should be targeting in order to grow and diversify its economy,” he said. “These are the things that are going to remain here.”

Ryan Kawailani Ozawa publishes Hawaii Bulletin, a newsletter covering Hawaii science, tech and startups, and hosts a local discussion group at HawaiiSlack.com.