Research Library

There have been promising developments in recent years in the fight to reduce overdose deaths. But barriers to drug checking and other overdose prevention tools remain throughout the country, writes fellow Katharine Neill Harris.

Following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan last summer, the world witnessed one of the largest and most rapid humanitarian evacuation missions in U.S. history. Since then, Afghan evacuees have faced numerous challenges in seeking resettlement in the United States.

"Perhaps surprisingly, the latest national data published by the U.S. Department of Labor suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has not given small businesses greater cause for concern over the cost of health care benefits," writes McNair scholar Alisha Small. Read her post on the Baker Institute Blog.

Although Texans broadly support relaxing cannabis laws and other criminal justice reforms, state leaders continue the war on drugs and other policies that propagate systemic racism, writes fellow Katharine Neill Harris.

The authors argue that the health care system needs to be better integrated with the social services sector, so that when people encounter either realm, they’ll get more of their needs addressed — including the social determinants of health. Health Affairs Blog: https://bit.ly/3wx1Pbh

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, which became law in mid-March, left out the mandate to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, but it did lead to an open policy discussion about current minimum wage standards. In a post for the Baker Institute Blog, public finance fellow Joyce Beebe considers some of the pros and cons of increasing the minimum wage and possible future developments.

Jose Ivan Rodriguez-Sanchez, the postdoctoral research fellow in international trade for the Center for the U.S. and Mexico, analyzes the economic impact of COVID-19 travel restrictions on the tourism industry of Texas border counties, many of which depend on Mexicans entering the U.S. and spending billions of dollars each year.

Public finance fellow Joyce Beebe discusses the tax policy considerations of an increasingly mobile workforce, including state tax and regulatory issues, reimbursement for home office expenses and workplace benefits.

Fellow Kristian Coates Ulrichsen examines where the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council currently stand in their outlook and approaches toward the Israeli-Palestinian issue.