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.
More than ever, businesses are tasked with pleasing both shareholders and stakeholders, including employees, customers and even communities. But can it be done? In this week's Kenan Insight, our experts explore the most successful strategies employed by a class of businesses that have been navigating this debate for generations: family firms.
As part of President Joe Biden’s efforts to refocus the Federal Reserve Board, the Senate conducted confirmation hearings for several nominees this past week. While these hearings traditionally raise spirited exchanges about the nominees’ views on monetary policy and bank supervision, a new and more controversial topic involves the extent to which the Federal Reserve should internalize climate risks into its purview. Before wading into central bank wonkishness, it is important to make clear that climate change represents a serious risk to not only the U.S. economy but to humanity itself. Nevertheless, we need to be very deliberate in the assessment of the available policy tools, with an eye to where unintended consequences may reside.
This paper examines private equity (both buyout and venture funds) performance around the globe using four data sets from leading commercial sources. For North American funds, our results echo recent research findings: buyout funds have outperformed public equities over long periods of time; in contrast, venture funds saw performance fall after spectacular results for vintages in the 1990s. For funds outside North America, buyout funds show performance similar to those in North America while venture fund performance is weaker than in North America. Venture samples outside North America are, however, relatively small and strong conclusions await further research. The similarity of performance estimates across the data sets strengthens confidence in conclusions about the results of private equity investing.
This case study describes the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Durham, North Carolina – the people and organizations primarily located downtown who embrace this mission.
Failing to consider neurodiversity when trying to create truly diverse and inclusive workplaces has crucial implications for productivity and general life satisfaction. Organizations should consider these three points of action to improve their work environments and cultures.
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.
Building resiliency is essential for managing today's distinct risks, yet how do businesses develop the agility and adaptability that would make them more resilient? That's the focus of the 2024 Kenan Institute Grand Challenge.
It’s not every day that students can walk through the halls of state government and shake hands with policymakers, but on January 26, a group of Kenan Scholars did just that.
As a once-orderly world grows messier in the post-pandemic era, UNC Kenan-Flagler's Christian Lundblad discusses strategic planning for low-probability, high-impact events.
This research takes a new perspective on the longstanding mystery of personality in negotiation, which has been met with decades of null and inconsistent findings. Grounded in interactionist theories of personality, the investigation had two complementary phases.
Rejecting our diversity is the wrong path to take if the U.S. is to remain globally competitive. Trump must now make the case for embracing our demographic diversity and help the country and Congress understand the strong demographic connection between population aging and international migration.
The aging of the boomer generation combined with increased longevity is ushering in a huge wave of older adults, a silver tsunami which will dramatically transform all of our nation’s social, economic, and political institutions.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has recently ramped up efforts to keep immigrants from entering the country and force out some who are already here – arguing these to be necessary measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 and protect American jobs. However, in this Kenan Insight, we summarize why these policies risk having exactly the opposite effect, harming the future health, social well-being and economic viability of our nation.
The Kenan Institute is proud to work in partnership with Gallup to explore a more holistic view of entrepreneurship in the U.S. with a focus on those who are driving economic growth in new ways. This work was featured at an event co-hosted by the Kenan Institute and held at Gallup headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 30, 2018.
Immigration is one of the most contentious policy issues, and Congress has for decades failed to make any significant legislative progress. The result is an incoherent policy landscape and serious operational challenges on the ground. At the same time, immigration and immigrant integration are critical to U.S. workforce growth, government fiscal solvency, and innovation. I discuss key findings from the economics literature and their implications for where to focus immigration reform efforts.
Join us on Thursday, July 3, as Research Economist Sarah Dickerson explores the economic impacts of current U.S. policy during our monthly briefing.
Craig Allen, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, provides insights on U.S.-China relations and its impact on U.S. firms. The Q&A session facilitated by UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School's Denis Simon further delves into the issue's complexities.
Sutcliffe, a Kenan Institute Distinguished Fellow, will highlight the state of knowledge about resilience, drawing together multiple sources of research that include a recent study of adventure racing.