Research Library

Farm labor shortages put pressure on the United States’ food security, the livelihoods of farmers and farmworkers, and the economies and identity of rural communities. In a new Center for the U.S and Mexico research paper, Alejandro Gutiérrez-Li, assistant professor at North Carolina State University, examines the crucial role played by Mexican immigrant farmworkers in putting food on American tables.

Texas’ growing population produces a mounting demand on the state’s power grid. In his recent testimony written for the Texas Senate Committee on Business and Commerce, Kenneth B. Medlock III, senior director of the Center for Energy Studies, examined the current power capacities of ERCOT, Texas’ grid operator. With support from a recent CES report, he outlined ways to address ERCOT’s structural risk through policy to promote investor and consumer confidence in Texas’ power supply.

Chile holds the world’s largest lithium reserves, yet the country’s current legal framework complicates the task of adding participants to boost lithium production. A commentary by nonresident fellow Benigna Cortés Leiss outlines the Chilean government’s new initiative to boost its lithium market share through collaborations between public and private sectors and questions its potential impacts on the lithium world market.

Nearshoring is gaining global economic significance, with Mexico poised to capitalize on this trend due to its proximity to the U.S., skilled work force, and other competitive factors. A brief commissioned by the Center for the U.S. and Mexico outlines these advantages and discusses the infrastructural challenges that Mexico must overcome to unlock its nearshoring potential.

A slowing inflation rate, low unemployment, and record stock market highs all point to a strong economy. But are consumers really better off than they were four years ago? Center for Public Finance director John W. Diamond takes stock on the Baker Briefing podcast.

Nearshoring offers Mexico a major economic opportunity; however, current policy hindering power expansion, energy transition, and private investment forestalls this prospect. A report by the Center for the U.S. and Mexico on their collaborative workshop series with Tecnológico de Monterrey dissects the power sector’s critical role in nearshoring efforts and offers policy recommendations for a way forward.

Once considered a uniquely Japanese art form, anime is globalizing — with China now playing a growing role in its production and consumption. Experts Brandon Zheng and Steven W. Lewis explore this trend and its implications for measuring China’s soft power.

Fellow in Energy and Global Oil, Mark Finley, comments on the 2024 edition of the Energy Institute’s “Statistical Review of World Energy” and points out some new wrinkles, a lot of continuity, and the mixed message left by the world of energy in 2023.

As Mexico faces a potential return to single-party rule, its ability to attract foreign direct investment is diminishing, writes fellow David A. Gantz. In this issue brief, he explores a range of factors contributing to Mexico’s adverse investment climate.

In her recent testimony at the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Hearing on “Securing America’s Critical Materials Supply Chains and Economic Leadership,” fellow Michelle Michot Foss emphasized that while technology can help improve commercial recovery of key minerals and metals and recycling can contribute to incremental supply, advanced materials hold promise for leapfrogging mining and metals challenges.