Research Library

Legislation regulating commercial transport by ship is impeding economic development and growth, the authors write. Read the post on the Baker Institute Blog.  This post originally appeared in the Forbes blog on April 9, 2020.

International and domestic oil and gas markets and prices are under heavy pressure from COVID-19 impacts and the Russian-Saudi Arabia oil market battle. With, all eyes are on U.S. domestic producers, especially those occupying the shale patch, Michelle Michot Foss, fellow in energy and minerals, provides some important considerations for the U.S. oil and gas industry. Forbes Blog: http://bit.ly/2WqVEqt

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.

Days after the attacks on the World Trade Center, William Martin, the Harry and Hazel Chavanne Senior Fellow in Religion and Public Policy and Chavanne Emeritus Professor in Rice’s Department of Sociology, spoke to a gathering of Rice University students, faculty and staff. These are his remarks. 

The Texas House of Representatives is considering House Bill 3256, which would legalize syringe exchange programs (SEPs) as a means of reducing the transmission of infectious and communicable diseases among people who inject drugs. On April 25, William Martin, director of the Drug Policy Program, appeared before the Texas House Committee on Public Health to testify in support of HB 3256. Martin also authored an op-ed in TribTalk supporting the establishment of SEPs.

Using Texas as a case study, this paper addresses which policies are desirable to best manage and regulate the supply of brackish groundwater.

Drug policy has experienced an interesting shift recently. Along with legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, many states are also reducing penalties for nonviolent drug offenses and placing greater focus on treatment for drug users. The emphasis on treatment and rehabilitation for drug users is the result of many factors, including recognition that the drug war has not reduced drug use, a desire to reduce the prison population and save money, and a surge in the rate of overdoses from opioid and heroin use. What remains to be seen is whether the current popularity of drug treatment will become a more permanent feature of drug policy. In this Baker Institute Viewpoints series, five experts on drug policy examine the question, “Is the current emphasis on treatment in drug policy a short-term trend or is it here to stay?”

In this installment of Baker Institute Viewpoints, experts discuss the question, "What does jury nullification of marijuana cases in Texas indicate about the possibility of marijuana legalization?"