I am an economist and faculty member in the Department of Economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. My research specialty is in the study of international trade and finance, and my life experiences include stints with the Peace Corps in Sub-Saharan Africa, the US State Department, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the UN Conference on Trade and Development. In this project I examine a puzzle a bit closer to home: what has contributed to the below-average growth in per capita income in North Carolina since 2000?