With COVID-19 cases on the rise, much uncertainty remains about how much more damage the pandemic will inflict on the U.S. economy, particularly on certain sectors and small businesses. What is clear, however, is that many businesses will continue to require infusions of capital to stay afloat, and that private sector capital providers will need to play a role in long-term recovery efforts. In this Kenan Insight, we explore how those providers will need to shift their approach to risk assessment in the post-COVID world, and what opportunities might be created for investors who can solve two outstanding issues.
The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) tools necessitates the development of human skills that allow workers to use these new technologies to create value that AI tools cannot on their own.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed flaws in the global supply chain that have existed for years, with disruptions that have led to a scarcity of goods as diverse as PPE, food and toilet paper. In this Kenan Insight, we examine how threats to supply chains are forcing companies to rethink how they can position themselves to mitigate future risk.
On October 14, 2016, the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School hosted a conference titled What’s Next, America. Convened fewer than four weeks prior to the presidential election, the objective of the forum was to allow influential business leaders, academics and policy makers to examine issues critical to the U.S. economy now and in the future. The conference offered actionable solutions to the most important economic issues facing the next administration.
Universities are under tremendous pressure related to declining resources, flat enrollments, and increasing stakeholder demands. Strategic questions are surfacing related to resource allocation – how to connect investments to outcomes in an increasingly competitive and dynamic environment.
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.
Cryptocurrency has its critics, but it’s becoming an increasingly mainstream option for retail and institutional investors alike. In this Kenan Insight, we share some thoughts from former Co-president of Morgan Stanley Zoe Cruz and Rethinc. Labs Faculty Director Eric Ghysels on whether crypto has reached a tipping point for adoption by individual investors.
During the past 40 years, the income gap between top and bottom earners has expanded exponentially, with the top 1% controlling about 20% of national income and the bottom 50% holding less than 13%. In this Kenan Insight, we examine the role of two factors contributing to regional inequalities in the U.S and Europe: job automation and telecommuting.
Some analysis indicates companies with diverse executive teams drive more revenue and are more likely to experience higher profits relative to their nondiverse peers, yet founding teams for both high-growth startups and the private capital groups that fund them stand in stark contrast to the U.S. working age population. Why? And why should it matter? In this week’s Kenan Insight, Kenan Institute Distinguished Fellow Emmanuel Yimfor unpacks statistics on the composition of both high-growth startups and private capital groups, explores the economic and societal implications of their lack of diversity and provides suggestions to facilitate change.
We all know that North Carolina is a migration magnet. But just who’s moving into – and out of – the state? And what’s the impact on North Carolina’s economy and infrastructure? Jim Johnson, director of education, aging and economic development initiatives for the Kenan Institute, and Allan Parnell, vice president of the Cedar Institute for Sustainable Communities in Mebane, NC, go in search of answers.
Join us for an afternoon with Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of Blackstone, Stephen A. Schwarzman. Mr. Schwarzman is an active philanthropist with a history of supporting education and schools. Whether in business or in philanthropy, he has always attempted to tackle big problems and find transformative solutions.
We show that individuals’ macroeconomic expectations are influenced by their socioeconomic status (SES). Individuals with higher income or higher education levels are more optimistic about future macroeconomic developments, including business conditions, the national unemployment rate, and stock market returns.
The Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise welcomed Key Square Group Founder, CEO and CIO Scott Bessent on Wednesday, March 7, to have lunch with its Kenan Scholars and field questions about hedge fund management, economics education and starting an investment career.
On March 27, four of North Carolina’s immigrant business leaders will be featured as part of the 2018 Chandler Conversation in Southern Business History, entitled Making America: Immigration & Entrepreneurship in North Carolina. The event, sponsored by the Center for the Study of the American South, will be held at the FedEx Global Education Center at 301 Pittsboro Street in Chapel Hill, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Ruben Carbonell, Frank Hawkins Kenan Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NC State University and a board member at the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, was presented with the O. Max Gardner Award on May 24. The award is the most significant honor given to faculty by the UNC System Board. Carbonell was recognized for his contributions in engineering, healthcare, education and public policy.
Kenan Institute Senior Faculty Fellow Anusha Chari’s work, which was highlighted at the American Economic Association (AEA) meeting on Jan. 6., was cited in a recent article in The Economist. Chari also spoke recently about her findings with The Chronicle of Higher Education.
European economies are now dominated by services, and virtually all companies view service as critical to retaining their customers today and in the future. This European edition provides students with a complete introduction to the unique marketing challenges that services present. Guiding students to recognize and understand these special characteristics, the text also explores frameworks for developing and implementing service strategies for competitive advantage across a wide array of industries.
Speakers, panels and rocket presentations by experts in entrepreneurship will discuss best practice approaches to teaching and ways of incorporating innovation into the higher education system.
As part of our new report, Seven Forces Reshaping the Economy, we explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has upended education and childcare, ushering in changes to both that will last far beyond the current crisis.