Research Library

Recent findings from research focus groups show that business owners in Houston’s Third Ward feel excluded from economic development processes happening in their community. Plans to revitalize the neighborhood are ongoing, but current business owners agree that the revitalization process has done little to benefit existing businesses.

Legalizing recreational marijuana was intended to remedy the racially disparate effects of cannabis prohibition. But new research from our experts finds persistent racial disparities in the legal system’s practice of mandating treatment for cannabis use.

Baker Institute Rice faculty scholar Luz M. Garcini and co-authors analyze existing research on the compounded stressors and health risks faced by undocumented Latino older adults in the United States. Using a Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) lens, they examine the environments, conditions, and social structures that influence health risks, and provide policy and advocacy recommendations to address the issues.

Almost all of the progress the U.S. has made toward its Paris Agreement target for 2025 has come from falling CO2 emissions from energy use. But greater declines in other greenhouse gas emissions are needed to reach our goal, writes fellow Mark Finley.

Elizabeth M. Mendoza offers nine commonsense actions Congress can take to provide immigration relief and protect U.S. national and economic security.

A new migrant caravan with over 7,000 individuals has formed in Mexico and is headed to the United States. What will its arrival mean for border cities, and what challenges will it bring for U.S. security?

As China appears ever closer to attempting a coercive annexation of Taiwan, this report explores how such a move could trigger a chain of nuclear proliferation — potentially adding thousands more warheads to stockpiles globally.

Fellow Gabriel Collins and Andrew S. Erickson explore the possibility of China taking control of Taiwan’s world-leading chip industry without ever invading — and lay out a strategy to prevent such a conquest by Beijing.

This report explains Europe's failure to secure long-term liquefied natural gas supplies, the likely implications, and provides ideas for better ensuring energy security moving forward.

As drought persists along the lower Colorado River, can the U.S. and Mexico cooperate to develop new water sources? Stephen Mumme and Aidan Lyde explore options ranging from wastewater reclamation to seawater desalination.