The Positive Impact of Social Entrepreneurship

An experienced investment professional and attorney, David Colin Burke serves as the chairman and CEO of Selby Lane LLC. Experienced in managing assets in excess of $20 billion, David Colin Burke also works to promote social entrepreneurship.

Social entrepreneurs seek out innovative business ideas with the goal of improving society. A hallmark of social entrepreneurship involves connecting with customers beyond the buying and selling aspects of economic transactions. The goal of this type of work is to effect positive change that benefits people or whole communities, as opposed to operating with a singular focus on sales figures and stock prices.

One way to turn a problem into a business opportunity is by protecting or improving the environment. For instance, a refinery in India that was struggling with pollution problems had the idea to convert the wasteland around its facility into a mango orchard. The orchard now grows more than 200 different species of the fruit and has beautified the community. 

The Federal Reserve Increases Loan Access for Small Businesses

With an extensive background in venture capital and equity investments, David Colin Burke leads Selby Lane LLC as the chairman and CEO. Knowledgeable about international capital markets, David Colin Burke follows economic trends closely. In late 2020, the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) widened the borrower pool for a support program for businesses and nonprofits that are financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Crain’s New York Business reported in November 2020 that the Fed took a step to assist small businesses by reducing its Main Street Lending Program’s minimum loan size from $250,000 to $100,000. This action increased loan access for small businesses that are trying to remain afloat amid the pandemic. As of early November, only $3.7 billion of a potential $600 billion had been dispersed since the program started in July. In addition, the Fed altered the fee structure in ways that incentivized banks to make loans of under $250,000.

The Fed traditionally has an array of tools at its disposal for exerting impact on markets, such as obtaining more mortgage-backed and Treasury securities and entering into extended purchase commitments designed to decrease long-term interest rates. It can also pledge to maintain lower short-term rates to target such issues as unemployment and inflation. Additionally, a ceiling can be set on long-term interest rates through yield-curve control.

 

Stanford Economists Receive Nobel Prize for Auction Theory Work

Leading Selby Lane LLC in California, David Colin Burke draws from over two decades of finance and business experience. An alumnus of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business (Stanford GSB), David Colin Burke lectures at the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce and the Stanford GSB. A Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) senior fellow and a distinguished Stanford GSB professor were among the recipients of the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize.

Stanford economists Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson are the winners of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for their explorations in auction theory and the development of new auction formats. The two men are known for research in pricing and auction-market design as related to industrial organizations.

This seminal work has informed how competitive bidding strategies take place within industries such as natural resources, energy, and communications. In particular, the auction format that they created informs FCC radio spectrum auctions, which have defined the telecommunications sector since the mid-1990s and are used to allocate licenses worldwide.

The Nobel-winning economists are now focusing on ways in which auction design can address new challenges, such as the equitable distribution of high-demand medical supplies within the COVID-19 pandemic context.

The Miller Center’s National Commission’s Focus on Educational Change

An active presence in the venture capital and direct equity investment sphere, David Colin Burke maintains a strong relationship with his alma mater, the University of Virginia (UVA), as a global citizen. Among the internationally focused organizations that David Colin Burke is active with is the Board of the Miller Center of Public Affairs at UVA.

Over the decades, the Miller Center has convened a variety of nonpartisan efforts aimed at strengthening democracy and the institutions that make the country function. At the close of 2016, this led to the launch of the National Commission on Financing 21st Century Higher Education. The Commission had a focus on funding and policy transformations necessary to achieve a goal of 60 percent of the U.S. labor force earning a postsecondary certificate or degree in less than a decade.

A particular focus is on pivoting toward higher education finance models that are sustainable in the long term. Of importance is finding lower cost pathways of instruction that are innovative, effective, and able to reach students of color and those of lower income. From a public funding standpoint, this would require making better use of available funds and realigning incentives.

At the core of the National Commission effort has been a 10-paper series, including “State Strategies for Leveraging Employer Investments in Postsecondary Education” and “Higher Education: Social Impact Bonds and Income Share Agreements,” by outside authors that is available on the Miller Center website.