Sentry School of Business and Economics Center for Business and Economic Insight
Delivering Insight for the Central Wisconsin Region
The UW-Stevens Point Center for Business and Economic Insight (CBEI) promotes regional economic and community development through the provision of applied business and economic knowledge to the citizens of Portage, Marathon and Wood counties. The CBEI aims to be an indispensable source of expertise for local business, governmental and community leaders.
Center for Business and Economic Insight
Special Event
John List ’92
University of Chicago professor of economics, Walmart chief economist and UW-Stevens Point Distinguished Alumnus John List ’92 returned to campus March 3-4 to speak about his experiences of scaling great ideas and shared stories from the White House and Chicago Heights schools to Uber and Lift.
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Publications and Presentations
CBEI accomplishes its mission mainly through the publication of bi-annual reports and presentations at bi-annual breakfast meetings. Each publication provides an analysis of the economy at the national, state and regional levels. In addition, a special section of the report is devoted to a topic of interest to local constituents. These reports are often written and presented by UWSP faculty members and their students. Topics cover a wide range of fields including talent manager, data analytics, leadership, community development and many other areas. The column Insight Spotlight invites guest authors to offer their insights on recent developments in their area of expertise. In addition, chief analyst Kevin Bahr shares his expertise on the economy and business issues in his blog. CBEI also sponsors special events featuring prominent speakers that are leaders in their field. Past speakers include University of Chicago economist and UWSP alum John List ’92 and business journalist Bethany McLean.
Events
Stay tuned for our Fall 2025 event!
Blog
Chief analyst Kevin Bahr shares articles on important business and economic topics.
Archives
Browse through our archives dating back to 1984.
Most recent publication – Q1 2025
CBEI Central Wisconsin Spring 2025 Report
Scott Wallace
- Director – Center for the Business and Economic Insight
- Professor – Economics
Kevin Bahr
- Professor Emeritus – Finance
- Chief Analyst – Center for Business and Economic Insight
715-346-2728
CBEI History
The CBEI represents a recent outgrowth of the Central Wisconsin Economic Research Bureau (CWERB) which was founded in 1983. In addition to economic analysis, the CBEI will seeks to foster prosperity by being a source of applied business knowledge for our regional constituents. The CBEI is a nonprofit organization whose operating budget comes from the UWSP School of Business and Economics.
Building on that tradition of service to the Central Wisconsin region, we changed our name to the UW-Stevens Point Center for Business and Economic Insight (CBEI) in 2019 to reflect a broader vision and expansion of activities.
Sign up for Updates
Sign up for the CBEI mailing list to receive the CBEI Wire newsletter and invitations to community presentations.