Research Library

Legalizing recreational marijuana was intended to remedy the racially disparate effects of cannabis prohibition. But new research from our experts finds persistent racial disparities in the legal system’s practice of mandating treatment for cannabis use.

Baker Institute Rice faculty scholar Luz M. Garcini and co-authors analyze existing research on the compounded stressors and health risks faced by undocumented Latino older adults in the United States. Using a Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) lens, they examine the environments, conditions, and social structures that influence health risks, and provide policy and advocacy recommendations to address the issues.

Armed conflicts in the Middle East and Europe and a strained relationship with China mean that U.S. foreign policy is currently operating in crisis mode. Fellow Joe Barnes discusses the many challenges we face and how multiple issues are contributing to this perfect storm.

To build brain resilience and compete effectively, America needs to re-double its efforts to boost its domestic brain capital i.e., social, emotional, and cognitive resources.

Progress on the UN’s sustainable development goals — aimed at achieving peace and prosperity for all people and the planet — has been slow. However, fellow Harris A. Eyre and his co-authors explain how applying a brain capital framework could change the trajectory.

Is the electric grid ready for the era of decarbonization? Nonresident scholar Julie A. Cohn explains why new inverter technology could prove vital for preventing outages and grid instability.

Almost all of the progress the U.S. has made toward its Paris Agreement target for 2025 has come from falling CO2 emissions from energy use. But greater declines in other greenhouse gas emissions are needed to reach our goal, writes fellow Mark Finley.

Elizabeth M. Mendoza offers nine commonsense actions Congress can take to provide immigration relief and protect U.S. national and economic security.

"Decoupling” from China would come at the cost of American opportunity and influence, writes fellow Gabriel Collins. Instead, “de-risking” — loosening China’s grip on global supply chains without cutting ties entirely — would better serve American interests.

Do remittances — the money sent home by migrants working abroad — drive economic growth? Research scholar Jose Ivan Rodriguez-Sanchez explores their impact Mexico's economy and argues that Mexico needs a more robust economic strategy for sustained growth.