Michael L Walden – författare

At a time when North Carolina''s population is exploding and its economy is shifting profoundly, one of the state''s leading economists applies the tools of his trade to chronicle these changes and to inform North Carolinians in easy-to-understand terms what to expect in the future. Today we are living in a technologically connected age that has completely transformed the North Carolina economy, Walden explains. Once driven by tobacco, textiles, and furniture, the North Carolina economy now thrives on technology, pharmaceuticals, finance, food processing, and the manufacture of vehicle parts. While the state as a whole has benefited from these dramatic transformations, some population groups and regions have not experienced consistent economic growth. Walden identifies education as the key factor; a skilled, college-educated work force, he argues, is now a region''s most prized commodity. Walden traces how the forces of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have remade the North Carolina economy, impacted people and regions, and led to the most substantive public policy debates in decades. Written in a lively style and including original research and insights, North Carolina in the Connected Age is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand how the state arrived where it is today and what its future might hold.

At a time when North Carolina's population is exploding and its economy is shifting profoundly, one of the state's leading economists applies the tools of his trade to chronicle these changes and to inform North Carolinians in easy-to-understand terms what to expect in the future. Today we are living in a technologically connected age that has completely transformed the North Carolina economy, Walden explains. Once driven by tobacco, textiles, and furniture, the North Carolina economy now thrives on technology, pharmaceuticals, finance, food processing, and the manufacture of vehicle parts. While the state as a whole has benefited from these dramatic transformations, some population groups and regions have not experienced consistent economic growth. Walden identifies education as the key factor; a skilled, college-educated work force, he argues, is now a region's most prized commodity. Walden traces how the forces of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have remade the North Carolina economy, impacted people and regions, and led to the most substantive public policy debates in decades. Written in a lively style and including original research and insights, North Carolina in the Connected Age is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand how the state arrived where it is today and what its future might hold.

For years, North Carolina has been one of the nation's fastest-growing states, bringing tremendous change to the state's people, industries, jobs, places, environment, and government. Much of this change resulted from the information and technology revolution, which connected the state more fully to the country and the world. But we are now moving beyond the connected age, argues Michael L. Walden, to a new era of living, production, and work, and North Carolina faces not only unanswered questions about the past but also new challenges and opportunities visible on the horizon. What will these new transformations mean for the state's people, places, and prosperity?In this book, Walden lays out these looming economic issues and offers predictions of future trends as well as multiple policy options for taxation, infrastructure, and environmental issues. While the future cannot be perfectly predicted, Walden's expert analysis is mandatory reading for policy makers, business leaders, and everyday people seeking to prepare for upcoming changes in North Carolina's economy.

For years, North Carolina has been one of the nation's fastest-growing states, bringing tremendous change to the state's people, industries, jobs, places, environment, and government. Much of this change resulted from the information and technology revolution, which connected the state more fully to the country and the world. But we are now moving beyond the connected age, argues Michael L. Walden, to a new era of living, production, and work, and North Carolina faces not only unanswered questions about the past but also new challenges and opportunities visible on the horizon. What will these new transformations mean for the state's people, places, and prosperity?In this book, Walden lays out these looming economic issues and offers predictions of future trends as well as multiple policy options for taxation, infrastructure, and environmental issues. While the future cannot be perfectly predicted, Walden's expert analysis is mandatory reading for policy makers, business leaders, and everyday people seeking to prepare for upcoming changes in North Carolina's economy.

We live in a collective moment that, for many, goes beyond uncertainty and holds unease and worry about the future. And while most, if not all, of these “Anxious Age” issues affect other states and even nations, Michael L. Walden, one of the foremost experts in North Carolina economics, makes clear the specific ways they’ll affect North Carolinians, making this a must-read for policymakers, politicians, and everyday folks alike. Walden covers everything from the increasing numbers of workers doing their jobs at home, to climate change, to questions of whether big urban centers like Raleigh and Charlotte will begin to lose population rather than continuing to grow. Walden even considers AI and how its use will affect the North Carolina economy, one that is increasingly focused on technology and research. In covering a broad array of concerns and uncertainties, Walden promises to offer a clear roadmap of where we’ve been and where, in this tumultuous era, we may be headed.

We live in a collective moment that, for many, goes beyond uncertainty and holds unease and worry about the future. And while most, if not all, of these “Anxious Age” issues affect other states and even nations, Michael L. Walden, one of the foremost experts in North Carolina economics, makes clear the specific ways they’ll affect North Carolinians, making this a must-read for policymakers, politicians, and everyday folks alike. Walden covers everything from the increasing numbers of workers doing their jobs at home, to climate change, to questions of whether big urban centers like Raleigh and Charlotte will begin to lose population rather than continuing to grow. Walden even considers AI and how its use will affect the North Carolina economy, one that is increasingly focused on technology and research.In covering a broad array of concerns and uncertainties, Walden promises to offer a clear roadmap of where we’ve been and where, in this tumultuous era, we may be headed.

Professor Dia Fenner is on a sabbatical leave at Duke University studying the best way for retirees to invest their money. There''s a personal reason for her work - her mother Ava was fleeced of her retirement savings by an unscrupulous financial adviser. But someone wants to stop Dia - first by stealing her data and then by threatening her life. But who''s the culprit - the New York bank CEO, the politically ambitious State Treasurer, the leader of the state''s financial advisers, or maybe her new boyfriend? With the help of two bright and loyal Duke students, Dia vows to trap the crook and finish her research. But is too much at stake for her to succeed? Readers will find the answers at the same time they learn about the ins and outs of the investment world.

The United States' political system has fractured into multiple tribal groups. A federal budget hasn't been passed in years, and presidents are routinely impeached during their first month in office. States have closed their borders and thumbed their collective noses at the federal government. The country is running on fumes, and foreign powers know it. It seems it's only a matter of time before the great experiment of the United States of America is no more. The only question is, how many states will be absorbed into foreign empires? Against this backdrop, four individuals, a newly elected US Senator, the first illegal resident selected as a state governor, and a newlywed couple looking for a better life, unknowingly confront foreign agents, a cartel backed terrorist group, kidnappers, and an unknown murderer in their fight to save the country. Will they succeed? Or will their efforts be the last gasp of themselves and of the country they love?

For years, North Carolina has been one of the nation''s fastest-growing states, bringing tremendous change to the state''s people, industries, jobs, places, environment, and government. Much of this change resulted from the information and technology revolution, which connected the state more fully to the country and the world. But we are now moving beyond the connected age, argues Michael L. Walden, to a new era of living, production, and work, and North Carolina faces not only unanswered questions about the past but also new challenges and opportunities visible on the horizon. What will these new transformations mean for the state''s people, places, and prosperity?In this book, Walden lays out these looming economic issues and offers predictions of future trends as well as multiple policy options for taxation, infrastructure, and environmental issues. While the future cannot be perfectly predicted, Walden''s expert analysis is mandatory reading for policy makers, business leaders, and everyday people seeking to prepare for upcoming changes in North Carolina''s economy.