Research Library

China’s dominance over the supply of rare earths — which are critical for energy transition and defense technologies — should spur U.S. policymakers to bolster raw materials supply chains, write energy fellow Michelle Michot Foss and co-author Jacob Koelsch.

Without urgent action, the impact of China’s water shortages will ripple across the globe and dramatically perturb global markets for food, energy and industrial goods, write fellow Gabriel Collins and co-author Gopal Reddy.

Through an examination of crime patterns in a major urban center in Latin America — Mexico City— this study contributes to the development of a theoretical and empirical understanding of criminal activity and its correlation with space and time.

Gentrification has just begun in Sunnyside, which has a desirable, close-in location, and current residents are keen to revitalize the neighborhood but also keep its heritage intact. To aid their efforts, this survey was conducted to provide local leaders and policymakers with data about neighborhood concerns, well-being and strengths.

This report is the culmination of a 16-month-long survey of residents in Houston's Third Ward. The data aims to inform strategies and investments that support resident access to health care, transportation and other quality-of-life concerns while maintaining the community's character and affordability. The authors thank the Houston Endowment for its generous support.

By: Lourdes Ampudia Rueda, Visiting Scholar, Baker Institute Mexico Center In this research paper, the author explores public policy issues related to the increasing elite involvement in urban development and privatization in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. https://doi.org/10.25613/ayg5-qp17

The authors examine a unique and anonymized dataset of complaints about government corruption in an urban Mexico district. The trends they found are transferable to other urban districts across the country and Latin America, they write, and may help anticorruption agencies in Mexico and beyond direct their efforts. https://doi.org/10.25613/cqgc-xv79.

Measuring the costs of corruption around the world is challenging due to varying definitions of corruption, the invisibility of many corrupt acts, and the subjectivity of perceptions. In this research paper, postdoctoral research fellow Jose I. Rodriguez-Sanchez explores the difficulties of measuring corruption in Mexico.

Building on the experiences of Hurricane Harvey, the authors present a summary of flooding issues in Harris County and discuss proposed local and federal projects in preparation for the upcoming flood bond election in August 2018.

Faculty scholar Jim Blackburn proposes a series of realistic ideas that can substantially reduce misery and damage the next time a catastrophic storm like Harvey tears through the Houston-Galveston area.