Opportunity Gaps In The Research Triangle

In early 2017, South by North Strategies, Ltd. joined with the program and communications professionals at the Triangle Community Foundation to prepare a series of county-level snapshots that documented differences in educational, economic, demographic, and social conditions within each of the four counties that constitute North Carolina’s Research Triangle.

Click on the following links to see the profiles for each of Chatham, Durham, Orange, and Wake counties, or view a composite file with all four snapshots below.

Few Signs Of A “Carolina Comeback”

CHAPEL HILL, NC (August 10, 2016) – Today, Think NC First, a nonprofit organization based in Raleigh, released a set of four issue briefs questioning the claim of a “Carolina Comeback.” While the refrain is often repeated by Gov. McCrory and his supporters, the reality facing most North Carolina families is much different.

According to the briefs’ author, John Quinterno of South by North Strategies, Ltd., a research firm in Chapel Hill, stagnant wages, falling household incomes, subpar economic growth and a jobs gap make North Carolina’s economic recovery more like a distant dream for many Tar Heel households.

“Proponents of the ‘Carolina Comeback’ are fond of listing impressive-sounding statistics without providing the context needed to compare current conditions to pre-recessionary ones or to gauge whether the recovery is meeting the state’s needs,” said Quinterno. “When that missing context is provided, it becomes clear that the recovery has bypassed most North Carolinians, who on any number of indicators are worse off now than when the recession started in 2007.”

The briefs also detail the extent to which the recovery has bypassed most segments of North Carolina’s population, irrespective of race, ethnicity, education, and place. The result is a state increasingly defined by striking economic hardships and widening inequalities.

The series of issue briefs is designed as reference documents for editors, reporters and thought-leaders. Each brief covers a specific economic issue and uses public statistical data to explore the patterns that have unfolded since 2007, paying attention to differences between the contraction (approx. 2007-2009) and expansion (approx. 2009-present) phases of the business cycle.

Click below to download the briefs in PDF format; the briefs also are available below in one file.

Issue 1: A Growing State with Too Few Jobs
Issue 2: A Low-Wage, Low-Skill Recovery
Issue 3: Falling Household Incomes
Issue 4: Insufficient GDP Growth 

For questions about the briefs, interviews and other media requests please contact John Quinterno at johnq@sbnstrategies.com or (919) 622-2392.

A Portrait Of A Changing Chapel Hill

In October 2015, John Quinterno of South by North Strategies, Ltd. presented on the changes to the population and housing stock of the Town of Chapel Hill, NC that have occurred from 1990 to the present. The presentation was delivered as part of an event organized by the Chapel Hill Alliance for a Livable Town to educate local voters about issues in upcoming municipal elections.

The presentation (below) compared and contrasted the concepts of economic growth and development, sketched demographic changes within the community, traced the evolution of the town’s housing market, and identified several long-term challenges.

North Carolina’s Changing Child Population

In September 2015, South by North Strategies, Ltd. analyzed several decades’ worth of US Census Bureau data to identify changes in the racial and ethnic composition of North Carolina’s child population. The analysis was undertaken for the nonprofit organization EducationNC.

The results of the analysis–an analysis that highlighted the unprecedented diversity of North Carolina’s children–appeared in a column published on the EducationNC web site.

Click here to read “A Child Population Like None Before.”

The Landscape Of Economic Opportunity

In October 2015, John Quinterno of South by North Strategies, Ltd. presented on the changes in economic opportunity and hardship that have occurred in North Carolina since 2007. The event was part of a conference organized by the Office of Economic Opportunity within the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

The presentation (below) explored the relationship between the state’s underperforming labor market, declining household living standards, and changing economic and social policy realities.