Texas state Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas) laments that “5.5% of voters have been given 100% authority to determine what our Republican Party looks like and stands for.” The 5.5 percent he refers to is the percentage of registered voters who cast a ballot in the May 27 Republican primary. Who participates in the Republican primary and comprises the 5.5 percent with whom Villalba is at odds on many issues?

Narendra Modi was sworn in as India’s new prime minister on Monday, a little over a week after a landslide victory at the polls. The resounding win gives Modi much greater freedom to implement his agenda than any Indian leader in recent years, says international economics fellow Russell Green. What will Modi’s India look like, and how will it affect the U.S.? Green, who spent four years in India as the U.S. Treasury Department’s first financial attaché to that country, explains.

European finance ministers have agreed to the final pieces that will create a banking union and a fund that can be used to rescue failing EU member banks — a big step forward for European financial stability. International economics fellow Russell Green explains in the Baker Institute Blog.

The past few months have seen extraordinary progress in financial sector reforms in India. Why now, near the end of the current government’s term?

In 2012, the Drug Policy Program at Rice University’s Baker Institute and the South Texas College of Law (STCL) established a unique agreement to work together on model legislation for the decriminalization and regulation of marijuana in Texas. The collaboration was initiated by students and supported by the administrations and faculties of both educational institutions. South Texas College of Law students produced 19 separate statutes for their public law course in the spring 2013 semester. They were asked to write model legislation regarding some aspect of marijuana policy and provide well-reasoned commentary for their statutes. Experts from the Baker Institute’s Drug Policy Program gave guest lectures on drug policy issues and worked with STCL professor Drury Stevenson to provide a general direction for the course. The goal of the collaboration between the STCL and the Baker Institute was to create a variety of statutes that legislators and government officials can consult and learn from as marijuana policy is increasingly debated over the next decade. Neither the Baker Institute nor the South Texas College of Law endorses any particular policy. The model legislation has not undergone editorial review by the Baker Institute.

A proposed inflation targeting (IT) approach to monetary policy has generated vigorous debate in India, where inflation has not dropped much below 10 percent for the past eight years.

The Gulf Cooperation Council states have emerged as increasingly visible global actors with diverse geopolitical interests.

This report, published by the Wilson Center, seeks to understand and define the gang issue in Mexico, establish the regional histories and sociologies of what is known about these gangs, and understand the causes of youth gang involvement.

The United States should assign a particularly high priority on science and technology over the next four years, especially for federal support of research.