Research Library

The number of energy-related social conflicts in Mexico has risen dramatically over the last several years. The authors review the reasons for these conflicts and the social impact assessments that should be required for firms developing energy projects in Mexico.

"With the U.S. and Iran staggering toward war, it bears asking: How would U.S. interests be served by war with Iran?" writes fellow Jim Krane. Read his argument for why U.S. interests would be deeply undermined by any such war on the Baker Institute Blog.  This post originally appeared in the Forbes Blog on June 17, 2019.

The author reviews the evolution of labor and environmental rights in U.S. free trade agreements and evaluates such provisions in the USMCA.

If the country is to be economically successful and democratically viable, it would require learning from past mistakes and developing its significant potential in other economic sectors, writes energy policy fellow Francisco J. Monaldi. Forbes blog: http://bit.ly/2R80KU3.

In the near term, a ban on shale development in Mexico will have little impact since factors like limited infrastructure and access to water would likely stall progress in any case, the authors conclude. In the long-run, a ban may adversely affect efforts to diversify Mexico’s gas supply.

In recent years public opinion surveys have found that a consistent and increasing percentage of Texans support marijuana reform, but this support has not translated into policy change. The authors explain why it should.

By providing regulated and safe access to medical cannabis to people with demonstrated need, the Texas Legislature can provide justified relief, help reduce the opioid epidemic, and save Texas millions of dollars, write the authors.

A pending bill in Congress would hobble OPEC by opening the door to anti-trust lawsuits against government-owned oil companies. This brief examines the multiple ways such legislation, known as NOPEC, would undermine critical U.S. interests. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25611/rezh-fc53

This report reviews several fundamental challenges in cross-border taxation of the digital economy and presents recent developments toward revising existing laws to enable the taxation of digital companies in Europe.

If the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is approved, this modified and modernized version of NAFTA will govern most economic relationships in North America. David A. Gantz, the Will Clayton Fellow in Trade and International Economics, reviews the USMCA and discusses its positive and negative elements.