COMMENTARY
Hawaii can learn from Ireland's example
By William C. Harris
It was an island community that enjoyed tourism success but was bifurcated by a class system of haves and have-nots. Local industry never seemed to produce enough good-paying jobs, which resulted in many people leaving the island. Historically an agricultural society, the population suffered for many years under a plantation system that treated locals as less than equal. This created an inferiority complex. The unspoken credo was "If it came from off-island, it had to be better."
If you think I'm describing Hawai'i, any resemblance is coincidental. I'm talking about Ireland.
The above scenario is now history. In about a generation, Ireland morphed from one of the poorest countries in western Europe with a per-capita income in 1988 of about 60 percent of the EU average to a per-capita income well above the EU average. Ireland reversed the persistent emigration of its best and brightest and created a knowledge-driven economy that is enjoying one of the most remarkable turnarounds of any country in the last 50 years.
I spent five years in Ireland working in the economic development arena. I learned some powerful lessons that I believe apply to Hawai'i - a place that has special meaning for me.
I grew up on O'ahu in the 1950s. Since then, Hawai'i has remade itself into a tourist mecca, but I'm concerned the rapid advance of Asian economies will leave the Aloha State in the dust.
That said, economic progress in Asia is not a death knell for Hawai'i - Hawai'i can find its niche and compete.
My recipe, based on Ireland's success, can be applied here:
First, education must be a core value, particularly in science, math and engineering. The University of Hawai'i and the public school system must be the engine of growth. Ireland expanded its educational system, concentrating on science, math and engineering. The Irish government also provided its citizens free university educations.
The result? Student enrollment in universities skyrocketed, which helped attract major companies. From 1990 to 2003, Ireland's GDP more than tripled, from $42 billion to $166 billion.
The long-term commitment to education in Ireland laid the groundwork for the boom that followed. I believe Hawai'i must follow the same path.
The second point is that research and development, combined with venture capital and other investments, can transform intellectual property into new knowledge and innovations. The formula entails:
Third, Hawai'i must create an environment where ideas and talent thrive. This strategy was highly successful in Ireland. By the time I left my job at the Science Foundation Ireland, we were funding 450 projects with grants totaling $540 million and involving 1,200 individuals, research teams, centers and visiting researchers from Europe, Asia, Australia and even South Africa. The researchers worked directly with Irish universities in partnership with multinational corporations.
The fourth idea is to thoroughly integrate resources at UH with K-12 schools. The Department of Education and UH should not be islands unto themselves. We can't develop a workforce for a high-tech sector without highly educated students coming through the pipelines.
The fifth point is to understand that Hawai'i is at a fork in the road. Tourism, while still important, has limited growth potential and few good-paying jobs. I believe it will be the new economy sector - IT, software, pharmaceuticals, nanotechnology and biotech - that will drive Hawai'i's future economy.
The Hawai'i I knew as a barefoot kid is gone. The pineapple canneries, the endless cane fields, the Lurline and DC-8s are history. We need to stretch our imagination and pave the way for a new economy. Our leaders must emulate Ireland by recharging our educational system and creating an environment where people with talented ideas have the room and support to innovate and invent.
If Hawai'i's people don't control their destiny, others will.
Former Hawai'i resident William C. Harris is president and CEO of Science Foundation Arizona. He was the keynote speaker at a recent Hawai'i Science and Technology Council venture-capital summit conference. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.
