David Hammes is a professor of economics at UH Hilo. Hammes frequently expresses to colleagues his amazement that he can earn a living by talking to students about subjects that he loves. It is highly apparent that he enjoys the working environment and the students at UH Hilo. He notes that Hilo is an ideal university for students and faculty to work together to extend their knowledge.

Hammes specializes in teaching money and banking, the history of economic thought and macroeconomic theory. He recently completed a historical analysis on the formation of the U.S. Federal Reserve. His current projects include a treatise on the impact of bank robbers on local community development in the Wild West of the late 1830s and an instructional piece on the correlation between the prices of oil and gold during the “oil shock” of the 1970s.

Hammes’ students characterize him as always eager to help and describe him as “approachable and encouraging.” One student comments, “His anecdotes demonstrate application of economics, while teaching us the power of applying ourselves in everything we do.”