Research Library

In recent years, Indiana hospitals billed millions of low-income patients who should have qualified for discounted or free care, leading to medical debt. A new policy brief examines how Indiana nonprofit hospitals handle & report debt, as well as improvements needed to address these gaps.

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.

Houston’s tax increment reinvestment zones (TIRZs) were legislated to help finance the economic and infrastructural development for the city‘s most underfunded areas; however, TIRZs can have had the opposite effect. A new issue brief by experts from the Center for Public Finance examines the regressive impact of TIRZs through geographic and census data, finding that TIRZs primarily benefit wealthier neighborhoods and higher-income Houstonians.

Texas lags behind other states in generating business-funded research and development (R&D) expenditures, which are crucial for supporting long-term economic growth and competitiveness. John W. Diamond’s new working paper outlines how Texas can boost R&D tax incentives without causing fiscal challenges and how these tax credits could benefit the state’s economy, locally and statewide.

Both presidential candidates have endorsed a policy of no tax on tips. But would this approach really help the low-income workers it’s meant to support? Fellow Joyce Beebe reviews the current tax treatment of tip income, summarizing the main arguments against such a policy, potential impacts, and possible alternatives

Texas hospitals perform more reduced-cost care charity care than most of in the country, yet many eligible patients miss out on free or discounted care, leading to medical debt. This new brief examines how Texas nonprofit hospitals handle and report debt, as well as the necessary improvements currently manage and report bad debt and outlines how to address these gaps.

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

Tackling the U.S. epidemic of drug-related death, harm, and addiction requires immediate action from federal and local policymakers and agencies to increase access to lifesaving services. It also requires a genuine commitment to a society that offers Americans a real shot at a healthy and meaningful life, writes Katharine Neill Harris.

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.