The authors offer strategies to counter an increasingly aggressive China and to position the Indo-Asia-Pacific for continued prosperity and growth under a rules-based regional system. Their recommendations comprise a dynamic blend of diplomatic, information, military and economic action.
Gabriel Collins, Andrew S. EricksonNovember 12, 2020
Energy fellows Mark Finley and Anna Mikulska explore why U.S. natural gas prices have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, even as gas prices in Europe and Asia have remained relatively low.
When President-elect Joe Biden assumes office in January, he will be compelled to deal with the most important and ferociously complicated geopolitical question the United States faces today: how to manage its relations with China. Fellow Joe Barnes explains how the U.S.-China situation differs from the Cold War dynamic, and how the U.S. will best be served in the years ahead. Read more at the Baker Institute Blog.
Many economists are concerned that automation will result in a loss of jobs. This work shows that is not the issue, and that the two main effects of automation are increased inequality and economic growth.
In testimony before the Texas House of Representatives Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, Neill Harris expressed support for limiting arrests for fine-only offenses and expanding cite-and-release eligibility to include nonviolent misdemeanors and low-level drug possession. These changes will save taxpayers money and reduce the racially disparate burdens of incarceration without compromising public safety, she said.
Katharine Neill Harris, Alfred C. GlassellNovember 5, 2020
Public finance fellow Jorge Barro analyzes Federal Reserve survey data released in September 2020 that shows that U.S. wealth inequality has declined for the first time in 30 years.
In late July, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar delivered a bleak economic outlook for the state’s economy: the amount of general revenue funds available for the current biennium is expected to be $11.5 billion less than originally estimated. Should the state tap into its rainy day fund to offset the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and facilitate a stable recovery?
A working group led by the Baker Institute has developed an innovative measurement-based standard — “BCarbon” — for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil as organic carbon. BCarbon is a scalable soil carbon storage standard designed to work for landowners and soil carbon storage buyers. The proposed standard allows landowners to monetize soil carbon storage as a property right.
Kenneth B. Medlock III, Jim BlackburnNovember 2, 2020
Energy fellow Mark Finley assesses the future of international oil companies given the tremendous pressure they've experienced since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. Using a football analogy, he suggests that although business leaders are rightly focused on winning the game, they can’t ignore the condition of the playing field.