Research Library

Matt Drwenski explains how “roadsTaken,” the interactive map and database of highway displacement in Houston, was designed and displayed.

Gain-of-function research is an important tool in medicine and other areas that leads to new biotechnologies, therapies, and tools. Instead of banning it, existing oversight can be used to ensure its safety.

Regardless of partisan differences, there are a number of policy steps that the new administration can take to protect America’s global economic power and influence worldwide.

The U.S. is facing an ongoing labor shortage that is hampering its economic growth and contributing to inflationary pressures. Allowing more foreign-born workers into the U.S. in an orderly and legal manner is an effective way to ease this shortage.

This report explores the many challenges in securing minerals and materials for evolving energy needs. From lengthy project timelines to China’s control of supply chains, these obstacles are creating a multifaceted and uncertain energy landscape — and a vast range of possible energy futures.

Given the importance of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to the economic well-being of the three countries involved, it is essential that all parties begin now to identify priorities for a formal review of the agreement to avoid trade delays and to secure economic competitiveness, writes fellow David A. Gantz.

While some scholars claim freeways were designed to adversely impact neighborhoods of color, fellow Edward M. Emmett argues this oversimplifies the issue. In this research paper, he explores the history of Houston’s freeways to uncover a range of factors at play.

Despite innovations in information and communication technologies, Mexico has experienced slow productivity and GDP growth over recent decades. For insights into why the country’s economic progress has been limited, read nonresident scholar James Gerber’s new research paper for the Center for the U.S. and Mexico.

Energy transitions also connect to developments in natural gas and oil markets, both of which still receive significant attention from policymakers. Steven R. Miles explains that despite numerous challenges, global reliance on liquefied natural gas (LNG) has continued to expand. Thus, future trends will be shaped by trade dynamics, geopolitical factors, regulations, and U.S. policies. LNG is important for the global energy balance, and increasing demand for natural gas means the long-term outlook for U.S. LNG exports remains bright, despite the recent LNG permitting pause by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The transportation industry is squarely impacted by energy transitions. Ed Emmett discusses the importance of a nation’s transportation system for its economic health, much like a circulatory system is critical for the health of the individual. Shifting to new transportation energy sources poses challenges because, in some applications, it requires not just a change in the technology embodied in the mode of transportation, but an overhaul of the entire system. Each mode of transportation — from cars to shipping fleets to planes — faces different constraints that impact the economic viability of different fuel sources and methods of scaling.