global business

European-energy-oil-gas
May 24, 2026

Webinar: Addressing Europe’s Energy Dilemmas in a Global Context

Further embracing renewable energy sources can help in the long term, but short- and medium-term solutions will require other answers. Join us for a virtual discussion at 11 a.m. June 20 as Stephen Arbogast, Kenan-Flagler Business School Finance Professor and director of the Energy Center, talks with Chief Economist Gerald Cohen about how focusing on the global energy supply can help Europe select the best options for creating a more stable energy outlook.

Container Ship

The Mother of All Supply Chain Shocks

Concerns about further supply-chain troubles are on the rise. Just a few months ago the “temporary disruptions” stemming from covid were predicted to work themselves out in 2022. However, businesses are now faced with the possibility of disruptions much more severe than those experienced to date. These stem from two sources: interrupted supplies in essential raw materials and agricultural commodities resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the potential for a rapid (and massive) spread of COVIC-19 in China resulting in suspensions to manufacturing operations there.

globalization

The World Has Changed

Out of the rubble of World War II, we collectively and deliberately built an institutional order that established norms of acceptable behavior and placed constraints on powerful nations. While work remains to create broader economic opportunity and some regions have suffered terrible conflict, the economic and financial globalization that this order fostered nevertheless yielded the greatest period of peace and economic prosperity that humanity has ever known. The more than 70 years since the war’s conclusion are, however, very atypical, and we are now returning to a setting far more familiar to any student of history, where strength and power supersede norms and rules. The world is characterized by a renewed struggle between illiberal autocracy and liberal democracy.

An Investment Philosophy for a Less Globalized World

An Investment Philosophy for a Less Globalized World

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has disrupted the movement toward globalization that has benefited investors since the end of the Cold War. This development, combined with inflationary pressures not seen in three decades, should prompt individual and institutional investors to reconsider their approach to managing their money, Director of Research Christian Lundblad recently shared with the Raleigh News & Observer.

Can the West Sustain Sanctions Against Russia?

Can the West Sustain Sanctions Against Russia?

Together with many business and economic leaders around the globe, we at the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise support the harshest feasible sanctions against Vladimir Putin in the immediate interest of Ukraine and its people. More broadly, we view such measures as vital to the long-term survival of democratic values. But as the Russian invasion continues, seemingly unabated by unprecedented economic and financial sanctions, we must ask: what more is feasible? And for how long can such restrictions be sustained?

Supply Chain

Supply Shortages: Here to Stay? The Roles Government and Emerging Tech Should Be Playing

Consumers will long associate the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic with seemingly apocalyptic searches for toilet paper, hand sanitizer and PPE. But even now, amid continued surges of the Delta variant, many global supply chains continue to experience disruptions at record rates. This week’s Kenan Insight invites our experts to weigh in on the immediate impact of these disruptions for business and society, the longer term effects across industries and the roles government and emerging tech should be playing to drive solutions.

Money and Taxes

Tax Income Shifting

There is growing evidence that many multinational corporations are lowering their tax obligations by engaging in income shifting—moving income from high-tax countries to low-tax countries or tax havens, and shifting deductions from low-tax countries to high-tax countries. By at least one estimate, the result is loss of nearly $100 to $240 billion annually in global tax revenues. In this Kenan Insight, we explore the extent of the problem and what might be done to address it.

COVID-19 PPE

Where Did All the PPE Go? The COVID-19 Disconnect Between Hospitals and the Healthcare Supply Chain

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities in many supply chains, none more so than the healthcare supply chain. What factors have contributed to the alarming lack of readily available healthcare resources in the wake of overwhelming need? And what can be done to prevent such a disconnect from happening again? Professor Brad Staats, faculty director of the UNC Center for the Business of Health, and UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Professor Jay Swaminathan present the findings of their most recent supply chain research in this week’s Kenan Insight.

Institute Insights Private Equity in the Global Economy Evidence on Industry Spillovers Greg Brown

Institute Insights: Private Equity in the Global Economy: Evidence on Industry Spillovers

Private equity investments have risen dramatically during the last two decades, not only in developed countries but in developing economies as well. Several studies have found evidence of improvement in firm performance following a private equity (PE) transaction, but surprisingly little is known about the implications of PE transactions for the economy – particularly the global economy. Kenan Institute Executive Director Greg Brown shares takeaways on his research with George Mason University Assistant Professor of Finance Serdar Aldatmaz.