Professor in Psychology and Neuroscience; Adjunct Professor in Organizational Behavior, Kenan-Flagler Business School
North Carolina’s phenomenal migration-driven population growth masks a troubling trend: high rates of death and dying prematurely which, left unchecked, can potentially derail the state’s economic growth and prosperity in the years ahead. On average, 246 North Carolinians died each day during the 2010s, increasing to 317 daily between April 1, 2020 and July 1, 2022. COVID-19 and the substance abuse crisis have played a major role in premature deaths of prime working age citizens of the state. Both people-based and place-based strategies and interventions are urgently needed to address the state’s death crisis.
The North Carolina Investment Forum will be held November 1 at the Kenan Center in Chapel Hill. Featuring North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, State Treasurer Dale Folwell and Secretary of Commerce Tony Copeland, the forum will convene an invitation-only, highly select group of private capital investors who back N.C.-based companies. By providing a chance to share information on investment strategies, markets and life-cycle investment policies, the forum will ensure all participants leave with a greater understanding of how the public and private sectors can better work together to bolster investment in the North Carolina economy.
This paper investigates how bank supervisors’ enforcement decisions and orders (EDOs) influence the allocation of mortgage lending across demographic groups underlying a banks’ borrower base. Specifically, we investigate how banks’ mortgage lending to minority borrowers relative to white borrowers changes following the resolution of severe EDOs.
There are few topics in business more current, more covered or more controversial than corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) responsibilities. Proponents claim a business’s adoption of such principles yields outcomes that benefit all parties, driving win-win scenarios for internal and external stakeholders alike. But critics dismiss ESG implementation as a performative PR ploy, and argue that considering such non-pecuniary factors in corporate decision-making is unsustainable. Our (independent, nonpartisan) findings indicate both sides of the debate are missing the mark – and in hopes of advancing more productive conversations, we introduce below a research-based model for examining the trade-offs of ESG adoption for businesses large and small.
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.
Universities have become essential players in the generation of knowledge and innovation. Through the commercialization of technology, they have developed the ability to influence regional economic growth. By examining different commercialization models this book analyses technology transfer at universities as part of a national and regional system.
Join the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise and the North Carolina CEO Leadership Forum September 22 for the launch of a new report examining the state of our national economy – and exploring its future.
The COVID-19 pandemic increased economic inequities in a number of ways, including in access to external capital – and while 2020 marked a break-out year for venture-backed firms, the pandemic hit many main street businesses hard. In this Kenan Insight, we explore the forces driving the haves and have-nots in this new economic climate, as well as actionable policy solutions as government support programs wind down.
As the pandemic forced shutdowns across the globe, U.S. government entities at the federal, state and local levels worked swiftly to secure known drivers of economic growth and job creation – including entrepreneurial ecosystems and small businesses. And while the programs implemented were widely lauded as successful, the story of who benefitted – and who did not – is more complex. This week’s Kenan Insight explores our experts’ key findings around the roles of policy and implementation in supporting equal access to opportunity.
The list of stores that have closed or gone bankrupt in 2020 reads like a “who’s who” of venerable retail giants. Although retailing has been experiencing tectonic shifts for several years, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated both challenges and opportunities. In this Kenan Insight, we explore four major trends in retail, with a particular focus on food retailing.
COVID-19 and the subsequent rise in work-from-home policies by firms have changed the landscape of skilled labor in the United States. The Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes finds that 15% of employees are working from home full time, as of September 2022. This dramatic increase in remote work has led to an equally dramatic physical migration of workers across the U.S. Census data shows a sharp decline in populations of the largest U.S. cities and increases among midsize cities and smaller metro areas. For example, from 2020 to 2021, the counties of Manhattan (New York County) and San Francisco both saw a decline in their population of 25- to 54-year-olds by nearly 10%.
Since graduating from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School in 2018, Elizabeth Berry has been working as an associate project manager at The Link Group in their Durham, North Carolina office. Read more about her post-grad experience.
Older adults prefer to age in their homes rather than in an institution. However, in order to successfully age in place, age-friendly modifications are usually necessary to prevent life-threatening accidental falls and exposure to other environmental risks or hazards that unfortunately are all too common among older adults living in their own homes today.
The American Growth Project The United States is home not to one, but more than 100 distinct economies. Our cities, towns, suburbs and rural communities hold the key to understanding...
The Kenan Institute and Fifth Third Bank will present insights from our new collaboration, “Empowering American Cities,” at a breakfast Tuesday, June 25, in Charlotte.
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.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has named Dr. James H. Johnson Jr., William R. Kenan Distinguished Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship and director of the Kenan Institute-affiliated Urban Investment Strategies Center, to the newly created Andrea Harris Social, Economic, Environmental, and Health Equity Task Force.