Want to know which issues are top of mind for business leaders as we enter 2026? Chief Economist Gerald Cohen gives you the big questions for the new year in his annual Five Trends.
Many of 2025’s economic challenges are expected to persist in 2026, and some Extended Metropolitan Areas will be more resilient to headwinds than others. Find out which EMA economies the American Growth Project expects will expand the most.
As businesses increasingly rely on technology, cities with a strong tech workforce gain a competitive edge, experiencing greater economic growth. This shift can be seen in both urban centers and rural areas.
We update an August 2023 piece in which we explain why manufacturing remains essential for economic growth and how manufacturing in the US today incorporates both regional shifts and “stickiness” in traditional strongholds.
The Research Triangle and the Piedmont Triad epitomize North Carolina’s economic evolution. The Triangle transitioned from legacy industries to high-tech manufacturing and experienced explosive economic growth; the Triad may be poised to join it.
The Kenan Institute’s projected 2024 GDP growth rates for 150 microeconomies across the United States anticipate a slowdown, with almost all our 150 Extended Metropolitan Areas experiencing a deceleration.
The year ahead is full of economic uncertainty, but institute Chief Economist Gerald Cohen knows that some topics will be in the thoughts of many business leaders and policymakers. Find out five trends he has in mind.
To find signs of productivity, we must first know where to look. Chief Economist Gerald Cohen describes how an area’s industry mix is key to its productivity and how adjusting that mix can drive more local growth using data from our American Growth Project.
In kicking off the new year, we at the Kenan Institute want to highlight five topics we anticipate will be top of mind for business leaders and policymakers during the 12 months ahead.
Chief Economist Gerald Cohen outlines mid-year updates to our 2023 economic forecasts, discussing which EMAs have changed since our January projections.
Our American Growth Project examination of skills in the workforce begins with a discussion of why skills are difficult to measure, then moves to a broad look at two ways to estimate the skill level across our Extended Metropolitan Areas.
