Research Library

While rapid economic and population expansion in Texas cities’ can bring financial prosperity, such growth also can strain local governments’ ability to provide public services and balance budgets. In a new outlook, John W. Diamond and Joyce Beebe detail the financial positions of Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth, and Dallas, highlighting each city’s budgetary achievements and gaps.

Armed conflict in Gaza, Sudan, and Syria has made millions reliant on humanitarian assistance. Experts Kelsey Norman and Salah Ben Hammou from the Baker Institute's Center for the Middle East joined Baker Briefing to discuss parallels between the dire situations in Gaza, Sudan, and Syria and the challenges of delivering humanitarian aid to war-torn regions.

The Sheinbaum administration recently unveiled its National Strategy for the Electric Sector, aiming to strengthen Mexico’s state-owned companies. In doing so, it may have overlooked key economic, infrastructural, and technological challenges. In a new issue brief, nonresident scholar Rolando Fuentes explores the plan’s potential benefits, risks, and gaps — emphasizing how comprehensive and transparent policies are crucial for building a sustainable, vibrant electricity sector in Mexico.

Texas should invest in its public pre-K program to address pandemic losses and provide valuable high-quality early learning opportunities for eligible students.

Vaccines are one of the most successful and significant public health measures in the 20th century. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, they have become more politicized. A new Science and Technology Program report analyzes the vaccine-voting records of state legislators with health backgrounds, finding that party affiliation is a significant predictor of voting behavior.

Houston’s tax increment reinvestment zones (TIRZs) were legislated to help finance the economic and infrastructural development for the city‘s most underfunded areas; however, TIRZs can have had the opposite effect. A new issue brief by experts from the Center for Public Finance examines the regressive impact of TIRZs through geographic and census data, finding that TIRZs primarily benefit wealthier neighborhoods and higher-income Houstonians.

The significant economic benefits of the U.S.-South Korea relationship, including billions in Korean investments in American industries, have created thousands of U.S. jobs. In a new Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) commentary, nonresident fellow Henry Haggard suggests that reducing tariffs, expanding visa opportunities, and fostering more joint ventures in sectors like steel and shipbuilding could further enhance prosperity and security for both nations.

South Korea’s potential aid to Ukraine could not only provide needed military support but also transform both nations’ roles on the global stage. In a new commentary for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, nonresident fellow Henry Haggard explores how such a move would reshape international diplomacy and strengthen South Korea’s global alliances and economic development.

Clean electricity technologies are here, and they’re affordable. So why does most of our power in the U.S. still come from fossil fuels? Daniel Cohan joined Baker Briefing to explain how bureaucratic bottlenecks have led to a backlog of wind, solar, and battery storage power projects that could, if built, revolutionize the grid and greatly reduce the emissions that contribute to climate change and air pollution.

Texas lags behind other states in generating business-funded research and development (R&D) expenditures, which are crucial for supporting long-term economic growth and competitiveness. John W. Diamond’s new working paper outlines how Texas can boost R&D tax incentives without causing fiscal challenges and how these tax credits could benefit the state’s economy, locally and statewide.