Research Library

Michelle Michot Foss, fellow in energy and minerals, suggests that host governments are often not well positioned to implement market-based reforms and “liberalization.” This is problematic because foreign aid is subject to home country fiscal and political cycles. This working paper is part of a series titled “The Role of Foreign Direct Investment in Resource-Rich Regions.”

A quantitative study examines how heightened geopolitical risk, coupled with lower oil prices, hampers the economic potential of mega construction projects in Arab Gulf states.

Given that policymakers will eventually need to decide how to resolve the social security program’s projected shortfall, this paper presents a simulation-based approach to evaluating the conventional alternatives of adjustments to benefits or taxes.

The authors conduct a rigorous econometric evaluation of the costs and benefits of the Jones Act in the product tanker market.

At a July 22, 2019, field hearing of the House Subcommittee on the Environment, Rice faculty scholar Jim Blackburn testified on ways to strengthen the Houston-Galveston area's resilience to hurricanes. Read his written testimony (PDF) or watch video of the hearing below. Blackburn's testimony begins at the 38:10 mark.

The authors construct a tax competition model in which local governments finance business public services with either a source-based tax on mobile capital, such as a property tax, or a tax on production, such as an origin-based value added tax, and then assess which of the two tax instruments is more efficient.

Center for Energy Studies senior director Ken Medlock provided an overview of trends in electricity generation by source — from coal and natural gas to wind, solar and biomass — and the role of infrastructure during testimony before the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on March 5.  Download the PDFs below to read his written testimony and the questions for the record submitted to Medlock, as well as his answers.

Fellow Jennifer Rabb testifies to the Senate Select Committee on Property Tax Reform on ways to increase property owner participation in the tax rate-setting process.

Over a decade ago, the Inter-American Development Bank led an in-depth analysis of eight South American countries that profoundly influenced the understanding of political institutions and the policymaking process in Latin America. In 2018, the Baker Institute’s Latin America Initiative expanded the project to include four additional Central American countries: Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Panama. These country reports, written in Spanish, are available below. Hace casi una década, el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) impulso un análisis sobre ocho países suramericanos que influyó profundamente el entendimiento de instituciones políticas y el proceso de formulación de políticas públicas en América Latina. El Latin America Initiative del Baker Institute amplió el análisis para incluir a cuatro países de Centro América: Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador y Panamá. Estos ensayos forman parte del análisis sobre los países de Centro América.    

Center for Health and Biosciences director Vivian Ho discusses health care industry consolidation in testimony to the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce on Dec, 10, 2018.