Research Library

Marriage. Divorce. Custody. Tunisia is often considered a women's rights leader among Arab Spring countries. But women still can't equally share an inheritance. The authors explore the secular and Islamist debate.

While academic and popular debates tend to focus on differential benefits and costs of trade across countries or industries, this brief highlights winners and losers at the level of individual firms. The authors demonstrate that preferential liberalization produces concentrated benefits among a relatively small number of very large and productive firms.

Most analysis of NAFTA begins by citing the huge increase in bilateral trade between the U.S., Canada and Mexico since 1993. U.S.-Mexico trade—exports plus imports—has grown three and a half times faster than U.S. GDP since NAFTA began in 1994. If NAFTA were solely responsible for that trade, renegotiating it on more favorable terms might have big payoffs. However, there are seven problems with thinking NAFTA has mattered or can matter very much.

This brief gauges the impact of India's drastic, surprise move to eliminate "black money" by requiring holders to redeem certain rupee notes by the end of the year. If not redeemed, such notes will become illegal tender.

Japan's once-booming economy has been somnolent, mainly as a result of deflation and decreased productivity. This issue brief discusses Abenomics — the country's strategy for achieving economic growth — and the headwinds created by the demographic forces of aging in Japan.

Is the U.S. better off linking its money supply to a global commodity market or allowing an independent central bank to respond to economic conditions?

As the BRICS hold their seventh summit in Ufa, Russia this week, international economics fellow Russell Green and Rice student Elisabeth Kalomeris offer advice on designing the framework for the organization’s New Development Bank.

The BRICS clearly want something tangible to demonstrate their global prominence and the power of non-Western values. Russell Green examines the critical issues that must be resolved before the BRICS bank can open its doors.