Need economic research? You have to do your research
Pacific Business News (Honolulu) - by Kim Williamson PBN Staff Reporter
When Bob McEldowney, executive director of the General Contractors Association, needed economic research information for his organization's newsletter, he read the latest Economic Forecast published by Bank of Hawaii.
He's also used the report to select the economist he wanted to speak at GCA gatherings.
Francis Oda, a principal manager of the Honolulu architectural firm Group 70 International Inc., once looked at the annual BOH reports to find out what was happening in the Pacific Rim area.
But things are changing.
In the future, when both men want information, they'll have to search the Internet since banks that once provided vital economic information have tightened their belts.
They either no longer provide the information or are moving toward less costly delivery methods.
Last February, First Hawaiian Bank closed its research department in what Leroy Laney, its former economist, said was "an economy-driven move."
That eliminated one of Hawaii's major sources of economic research in hard copy.
Meanwhile, competitor Bank of Hawaii not only pared down its economic research department from 10 employees to two and moved it under the control of the marketing department, but also slashed the department's budget of $167,000.
And Bank of Hawaii's two annual reports, one on Hawaii's economy and the other on the construction industry, will no longer be available for businesses and organizations.
"We still maintain a fairly large collection of [research] materials," explained Paul Brewbaker, the Bank's chief economist. "But we had to scale back on the public service side."
The bank is not researching less but trying to be more efficient as competition in the industry makes cost cutting necessary, according to Brewbaker.
That means those interested in accessing the bank's research must go to the bank's Web site, http://www.boh.com. Browsers will find a variety of information, including economic research data.
Brewbaker noted that the Web site gets thousands of "hits" per month. Visitors to the Web site log on from Europe, Asia, the mainland and from Pacific islands, in addition to those from Hawaii.
Browsers seeking economic information are also logging on at the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism's Web site, http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt.
Pearl Imada Iboshi, DBEDT's division head, said her department's research library has expanded its Web site to accommodate a steady increase of inquiries.
About 1,000 inquires are made per month via the site. Her department has posted such information as the top 10 most frequently asked questions and their answers -- things like what is the state's CPI (consumer price index).
Like the Bank of Hawaii, DBEDT has downsized its library from three employees to two while trying to handle increasing requests for service.
Bank of Hawaii's Brewbaker said there will be a collaborative effort among businesses and other groups to fill the information need.
"Contractors and the building industry trades, who have a common interest, would benefit from having collective information available," he said.
Another alternative may be the marriage of an advocacy organization, such as the Honolulu Business Roundtable, and a local academic entity, such as the University of Hawaii, that provides an economic research Web site, he said.
Whether collective or advocacy groups begin providing research information remains to be seen. But for users like GCA's McEldowney, he'll simply find that information is just a Web page away.
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