Volodymyr Babich, Professor of Operations and Information Management at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, will present his co-authored paper with McDonough School Houston Professor Gilles Hilary “Linking the chains: can supply chain challenges become blockchain opportunities?” during a lunchtime seminar in Kenan Center 204.
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.
Much has been made about the labor force participation rate, or the percentage of Americans over 16 who are working or actively looking for work — and for good cause, given the number of unfilled vacancies at U.S. firms. If fewer Americans are working, it is going to be harder for firms to staff all of their openings. Currently, 62.2% of adult Americans are working or looking for work. This compares with a historical average of 63.9% in 2019. With 259 million adult Americans, this 1.7 percentage point decrease in the labor force participation rate translates to a missing 4.4 million workers. And the narrative to date has primarily focused on how many Americans made changes following the COVID-19 pandemic (in response to lockdowns, layoffs, health concerns or care responsibilities) and the sizable fraction of these Americans who are still sitting on the sidelines. Given the steady drumbeat of news about how firms are unable to fill all their positions, there is much interest in how and when we expect these workers to return to the labor force. So, when can we expect them to join the labor pool?
The American Growth Project explains why manufacturing remains essential for economic growth and how manufacturing in the U.S. today incorporates both regional shifts and “stickiness” in traditional strongholds.
Chief Economist, Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise; Research Professor of Finance, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
As the U.S. continues to face COVID-19 and supply chain disruptions, experts debate just how worked up the economy is in its current state. This week’s Insight serves as the first in a two-part point-counterpoint series, in which Kenan Institute Executive Director Greg Brown and Chief Economist Gerald Cohen hash out the arguments both for and against an overheating economy.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) allowed for the creation of Opportunity Zones (OZs) — specially designated census tracts encompassing low-income neighborhoods meant to stimulate investment through large tax incentives. But critics say the program has not spurred additional investment as much as rewarded politically connected investors. In this Kenan Insight, we investigate what role, if any, bias and political party affiliation plays in the selection of OZs.
Elon Musk’s bid to purchase Twitter for $44 billion appears to have fallen apart, but the reality of what nearly happened, and still may, will probably be with us for good. Before attempting to terminate the deal, Musk spoke with Twitter employees and discussed his vision to turn the social media platform into the world’s town square. The wealthiest person in the world wanting to own space where people gather to mobilize, to call out injustices and criticize powerful organizations and governments, and to coo at the latest cat videos?
The Kenan Institute will host John Allison for an exclusive conversation about leadership with UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School students. Allison is an Executive in Residence at the Wake Forest School of Business, as well as a member of the Cato Institute’s Board of Directors and Chairman of the Executive Advisory Council of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives.