Research Library

Social distancing and stay-at-home measures provided scientists with a natural experiment to study social phenomena that hinge precisely on human mobility and contact — including criminal activity. A study by Center for the U.S. and Mexico experts and co-authors explores the relationship between COVID-19 and criminal activity in Mexico.

Hospital at Home programs offer an alternative care model for acutely ill patients to receive intensive at-home treatment. With better policy and operations, can this model work at scale in the United States beyond the pandemic?

Argentina is a risky place for foreign investors. But the country’s Vaca Muerta offers a case study on how unconventional shale gas investment may be lower risk, with implications that could spur shale production outside the U.S.

The unproven stem cell intervention industry is a worldwide, direct-to-consumer market where clinics offer stem cells or stem cell-derived components to patients with little to no scientific or clinical basis. In this paper, the authors call for the establishment of a World Health Organization Expert Advisory Committee on Regenerative Medicine to tackle this issue and provide guidance. Stem Cell Reports: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stemcr.2021.05.004

Existing innovation in outcomes measurement and resource management, coupled with the competitive pressures of Covid-19, create a unique window for value creation within surgical care, the authors write. Read their article in the Annals of Surgery.

The history of the oil sector in the developing word has been characterized by cycles of investment, often followed by cycles of resource nationalism. Understanding the dynamics behind resource nationalism in Latin America is crucial for designing institutional frameworks that limit the cycles and induce long-term resource policies that foster the development of the abundant resource endowments in the region.

Fellow Francisco J. Monaldi examines the factors that led to the collapse of Venezuela’s oil industry and the impact of sanctions against the country.

Latin America has witnessed an unprecedented natural resource boom in the last decade. However, the macroeconomic and social achievements cannot hide the significant challenges and some negative effects of the mining boom, including the so-called resource curse.

With a favorable market and nearly inexhaustible resource base, Venezuela has a historic opportunity to boost its oil industry. However, the industry faces serious policy hurdles, and the potential of this investment is likely to be wasted.

The significant influence of governors in the national policymaking process in Latin America can potentially generate uncoordinated and contradictory policies.