Research
Leading, Managing and Communicating in an Era of Certain Uncertainty
The COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide civil unrest spawned by the recent spate of senseless killings of unarmed African Americans have illuminated what executive development professionals have been telling private and public sector leaders and managers for quite some time. We are living in an era of increasing volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity—a VUCA World. “Certain-uncertainty” is the new normal in today’s society and economy.
MoreWho Benefits from Place-Based Policies? Job Growth from Opportunity Zones
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 established a new program called “Opportunity Zones” that created tax advantages for investment locating in Census tracts with relatively low income or high poverty. Importantly, only 25% of eligible tracts in each state could be designated as an Opportunity Zone. We use detailed establishment-level data and a difference-in-difference (DiD) approach to identify the designation of a tract as an Opportunity Zone on job creation.
MoreIs America’s Housing Affordability Problem a Housing Problem?
We document what fraction of the housing stock in US cities is affordable to different family types. Rather than looking at what fraction of their income people actually pay in rent in each city, which reflects a mix of households’ ability to pay and supply conditions, we look at the extent to which the housing stock is affordable using discrete housing expenditure share cutoffs and the distribution of rents in the American Community Survey from each city.
MoreWarning: Demographic Headwinds Ahead
Knowledge of our changing demography can serve as both foundation and frame for how to achieve greater social, economic, environmental, and health equity in North Carolina. After describing how disruptive demographics are transforming the our state, this essay highlights a set of equity issues undergirding our shifting demography and concludes with a set of tools and strategies to make North Carolina a place where equity, inclusion, and belonging is the new normal.
MoreChoice, Competition, And Flexibility, Part I: Post-ACA Consumer Challenges
This is the first part of a two-part post discussing the current state of health reform and where we should go from here. Part I examines the effects of the ACA and progressive reform initiatives. Part II will outline a market-driven path forward. More
Coronavirus Pandemic Refugees and the Future of American Cities
History informs us that some people, especially the wealthy, typically flee cities in response
to pandemics and other major catastrophes. Media accounts and preliminary empirical
research suggest that the response to the COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. Nearly a half
million people reportedly fled hard-hit New York City within two months of the World Health
Organization declaring the coronavirus disease a global pandemic.Some coronavirus pandemic refugees headed to nearby suburbs, others headed to second homes and vacation spots in other states, and still others moved back home to live with parents.
Scapegoating Immigrants in the COVID-19 Pandemic
Immigrants are once again the targets of draconian policymaking. It is during the COVID-19 pandemic this time. Through a series of presidential proclamations and other executive branch maneuvers, the Trump Administration is attempting to leverage a host of so-called migration
management tools to ban entry and force some immigrant to leave the country—all under the guise of containing the spread of the coronavirus and protecting American jobs.
Leading, Managing and Communicating in an Era of Certain Uncertainty
The COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide civil unrest spawned by the recent spate of senseless killings of unarmed African Americans have illuminated what executive development professionals have been telling private and public sector leaders and managers for quite some time. We are living in an era of increasing volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity—a VUCA World. “Certain-uncertainty” is the new normal in today’s society and economy.
MoreBuilding Energy Retrofit Hurdle Rates and Risk Arbitrage in Energy Efficiency Investments
Despite extensive empirical evidence of the economic and financial benefits of green buildings, energy retrofit investments in existing buildings have not reached widespread adoption.This paper empirically estimate returns to energy retrofit investments for multifamily and commercial buildings in New York City, using a novel database of actual audit report recommendations and permitted renovation work extracted using natural language processing.
MoreEstimating Undetected COVID-19 Infections—The Case of North Carolina
We specify and estimate a time-varying Markov model of COVID-19 cases in North Carolina. We find that the estimated level of undetected infections spiked in early March and remained elevated through May. However, since late April estimated undetected infections have generally declined as a fraction of all cases though it was not until mid-May that detected cases exceeded the estimated number of undetected cases.
MoreAssessing the Economic Value of Changing Various Health Behaviors Using Mobile Health Interventions
In December 2019, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Center for the Business of Health (CBOH) began a research partnership with Sharecare, a leading digital health company founded by technology entrepreneur, Jeff Arnold, to assess the economic value of changing various health behaviors via mobile health (mHealth) interventions. More
Pandemic Preparedness Infrastructure: An Action Plan for North Carolina
The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 exemplifies a worst-case scenario for federal, state, and local disaster preparedness planning and illustrates some of the United States’ fundamental public health infrastructure flaws. While stay-at-home orders and economic shutdowns initially depressed disease spread, they harmed businesses and organizations, threatened individuals’ livelihoods, and negatively impacted community well-being. National standards for COVID-19 management tools and protocols were not available when needed, and state, local, and federal guidance differed, and often conflicted, in ways that confused the public and created economic uncertainty. More
Coronavirus Disease 2019 and the Future of Virtual Health
Since January 2020, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected more than 4.5 million Americans, resulting in over 150,000 deaths; reconfigured our domestic lives and the world economy; and overwhelmed the United States’ (U.S.) public health and health care delivery capabilities. As individuals, institutions, and municipalities struggled to quickly integrate public health best practices into economic activities and social priorities, the virus exposed fault lines in our nation’s health care system(s). The government’s initial response was disjointed, which led to critical delays, confusion, and, ultimately, hindered collaboration. As a result, medical institutions and providers were, and still are in some cases, unable to obtain adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), provide and administer sufficient and timely testing to identify and track the disease, and secure sufficient medical equipment to care for infected individuals. More
