American Values and the Competitive Advantage of Employee Ownership

Americans have long-held values around dignity, hard work, and the promise of the American dream. These values, however, are often divorced from our discourse and policies around the health and competitiveness of our businesses and our economy. And too often, it is believed that we must sacrifice the well-being of our workers in favor of growth and a higher GDP. Employee ownership, which is good for businesses, workers, and our economy, is one strategy for helping us break this false choice and narrative. In this conversation, speakers discuss how employee ownership can help us create a strong, competitive economy and live up to the values we hold about work and opportunity. It features a panel discussion with Erik Olsen (Department Chair of Economics, University of Missouri-Kansas City), Paige Ouimet (Professor of Finance, University of North Carolina), Margot Brandenburg (Senior Program Officer, The Ford Foundation), Julius Krein (Editor, American Affairs), Jerome Brown (Senior Vice President and Director of Quality, HDR) and moderator Maureen Conway (Vice President, The Aspen Institute; Executive Director, Economic Opportunities Program). For more information about this event — including video, audio, transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources — visit: https://www.aspeninstitute.org/videos/american-values-and-the-competitive-advantage-of-employee-ownership/ This discussion was held on June 15, 2023, as part of the Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, co-hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University. This two-day convening brought together leading policymakers, practitioners, experts, and the media for a robust discussion on how we can grow employee ownership for the shared benefit of American workers and businesses. Learn more: https://www.aspeninstitute.org/events/employee-ownership-ideas-forum/