North Carolina in the Connected Age : Challenges and Opportunities in a Globalizing Economy

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. Today We Are Living In The Connected Age, Says Walden. For Consumers, This Means Being Connected By Modern Technology Through Computers, Cell Phones, And Instant Messaging; By High-speed Transportation Networks On The Ground And In The Air; And By 24/7 Access To Virtually Any Place And Anyone, For The North Carolina Economy, The Connected Age Means That, With The Support Of International Trade Agreements, The Markets For Products, Services, Money, And Workers Are Now Globally Linked. 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.--book Jacket. The National Context : The Creation Of The Connected Age -- The Macroeconomics Of Change : Forces Transforming North Carolina's Economy -- The Microeconomics Of Change : The Remaking Of North Carolina's Industries -- Impacts On People -- Impacts On Places -- Impacts On Policies -- North Carolina's Future In The Connected Age. Michael L. Walden. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [283]-318) And Index. Despite almost four centuries of black independent self-help enterprises, the agency of African Americans in attempting to forge their own economic liberation through business activities and entrepreneurship has remained noticeably absent from the historical record. Juliet Walker's award-winning History of Black Business in America is the only source that provides a detailed study of the continuity, diversity, and multiplicity of independent self-help economic activities among African Americans. This new, updated edition divides the original work into two volumes. The first volume covers Afric