Research Library

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.

Can Texas’ approach to U.S.-Mexico border relations really solve long-standing migration and fentanyl issues? This new brief from the Center for the U.S and Mexico — based on a conversation with R. Gil Kerlikowske, former Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection — examines Gov. Greg Abbott’s strategy, focusing on the deployment of buoys along the Rio Grande and their symbolism.

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.

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.

In his recent testimony at the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission Hearing on “China’s Stockpiling and Mobilization Measures for Competition and Conflict,” fellow Gabriel Collins outline how energy stockpiling activities function as reliable strategic warning indicators for future conflict and offered policy recommendations for how they might be tracked.

Organizations across the energy ecosystem are grappling to incorporate sustainability into their long-term planning and strategic visions. The Center for Energy Studies’ new sustainability initiative focuses on ways to face these challenges. This new report examines the initiative’s five objectives and provides key takeaways to develop viable sustainability strategies.

Each year, millions of people migrate within and beyond their own countries because of rising temperatures and weather-related disasters. This new policy brief on climate-induced displacement from the Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East explains the term “climate mobility,” distinguishes between voluntary and forced migration, and explores the challenges and opportunities presented by this reality of our times.

In 2026, the USMCA will undergo an open-ended review that could result in anything from minor changes to significant renegotiations. Nonresident fellow Simon Lester discusses this unprecedented process and argues that the U.S. and Mexico must follow Canada’s lead in starting preparations.