Research Library

By Courtney Freer, London School of Economics Cross-ideological movements uniting Islamist and secular groups have increasingly focused on sweeping political reforms instead of social policies and ideology in post-Arab Spring Kuwait, writes the author. This brief is the second of four resulting from a May 2018 workshop held in Kuwait by the Baker Institute in partnership with the Alsalam Center for Strategic and Developmental Studies. This work is part of a two-year project funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York on “Building Pluralistic and Inclusive States Post-Arab Spring.”

The authors examine the impact of draconian immigration policies on business sectors that depend on immigrants, many times undocumented, for labor. 

Fellow Joyce Beebe examines the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2018 ruling that opens the door for states to collect sales taxes from remote sellers that do not have a physical presence in the state.

By Laila Elimam Protests erupted in Jerada, Morocco, after the deaths of two brothers who were killed in the nearby abandoned mines. Research associate Laila Elimam examines this event and the response of the Moroccan legislature.

The responses of Morocco's monarchy to the rise of the PJD are examined for what they suggest about the monarchy’s perception of its vulnerabilities and because they help to frame the environment in which the PJD and the regime operate.

Rice faculty scholar Leslie Schwindt-Bayer shares key findings from a recently published book she edited, “Gender and Representation in Latin America," which examines the factors that help increase women’s political presence in Latin American governments.

This brief explores how a quirk in the measurement of women’s labor force participation and the demographic peculiarities of the Persian Gulf have resulted in the significant undercounting of female citizen labor in the Gulf Cooperation Council. I

At least four states are currently considering a gross receipts tax (GRT) to improve revenues, yet Texas legislators have made attempts to repeal its franchise tax, a form of the GRT. Fellow Joyce Beebe examines this apparent conflict.

Houston and Harris County area law enforcement leaders weigh in on the need for drug policy reforms in the United States.

This issue brief examines how produced water recycling in Texas oilfields threatens landowners’ ability to earn revenue from selling frac water and disposal services, a more lucrative revenue stream compared to raising cattle.