Research Library

While rapid economic and population expansion in Texas cities’ can bring financial prosperity, such growth also can strain local governments’ ability to provide public services and balance budgets. In a new outlook, John W. Diamond and Joyce Beebe detail the financial positions of Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth, and Dallas, highlighting each city’s budgetary achievements and gaps.

The Sheinbaum administration recently unveiled its National Strategy for the Electric Sector, aiming to strengthen Mexico’s state-owned companies. In doing so, it may have overlooked key economic, infrastructural, and technological challenges. In a new issue brief, nonresident scholar Rolando Fuentes explores the plan’s potential benefits, risks, and gaps — emphasizing how comprehensive and transparent policies are crucial for building a sustainable, vibrant electricity sector in Mexico.

Clean electricity technologies are here, and they’re affordable. So why does most of our power in the U.S. still come from fossil fuels? Daniel Cohan joined Baker Briefing to explain how bureaucratic bottlenecks have led to a backlog of wind, solar, and battery storage power projects that could, if built, revolutionize the grid and greatly reduce the emissions that contribute to climate change and air pollution.

Recently proposed federal legislation would require the Texas electrical grid to connect to the Eastern and Western Interconnections. While connecting the Texas grid may offer more power to the state and beyond, it would not eliminate the state’s energy reliability, connectivity, or outage concerns. Thus, policymakers should shift their focus to funding a thorough, practical study of all the issues involved in Texas grid integration, writes nonresident scholar Julie A. Cohn.

By prioritizing energy transition speed over economic stability, Germany’s recent energy policies have resulted in persistent economic underperformance, the fear of growing industrial weakness, and potential political instability. Germany’s current economic status offers valuable lessons for the United States’ and other countries’ approaches to renewable energy adoption, writes Ted Loch-Temzelides.

San Diego and Tijuana, key entry points at the U.S.-Mexico border, face challenges in meeting the needs of migrants arriving in their cities due to insufficient shelter capacity, infrastructure, and funding. Ana Martín Gil’s new report examines the cities’ differing migrant reception systems and approaches to collaborative efforts among international, federal, and local groups, while also providing policy recommendations to advance the development of an orderly and humane asylum system.

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.

Despite being one of the largest and most dynamic sectors of the U.S. economy, the construction industry faces a severe labor shortage due to an aging workforce, lower birth rates, and reduced immigration. This new report from the Center for the U.S and Mexico offers recommendations to address the industry’s needs, including authorizing more migrant workers through limited-term visas and promoting construction skills and careers to young people.

While Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump differ on clean energy policy, neither candidate has yet to offer a comprehensive energy plan. In a new commentary featured in The Conversation, Daniel S. Cohan examines how legislation, regulations, and trade policy will guide either administration’s approach to the energy transition.