Research Library

The unfettered development of Houston's flood-prone areas undoubtedly magnified the tremendous damage caused by Hurricane Harvey, but zoning or other land use controls are unpopular on the Texas coast and are unlikely to be adopted as a result. With this in mind, the SSPEED Center at Rice University looked to innovation and the market system to find a creative solution to protect important natural, flood-prone areas from further development. 

Mexico Center director Tony Payan weighs in on President Trump's decision to end DACA: http://bit.ly/2wDU1Zm

Aside from the massive cost of constructing a physical barrier along the entire U.S.-Mexico border, factors such as private and tribal land ownership and the impact on the environment must be taken into account.

This paper examines Mexican skilled migration to Texas, particularly to Houston, and explores the factors that motivate such migrants to emigrate, whether they intend to return to Mexico permanently or remain in the U.S. and in what ways they contribute to knowledge-transfer activities between the U.S. and Mexico in health care research.

NAFTA has neither been the enormous success that its supporters believe, nor the disaster that its detractors claim. Renegotiating NAFTA — or even threatening to repeal it — is not a high-stakes proposition. The treaty simply does not possess the leverage to deliver a major boost or setback to the U.S. manufacturing sector. 

The author examines the performance and impact of Mexico’s Programa Frontera Sur, an effort designed to deter unauthorized migration of Central Americans through Mexico’s southern border.

In a post for the Baker Institute Blog, the authors examine two associations that have been among the pillars of civil society in Tunisia and have played a key role in keeping alive a feminist, secularist discourse in favor of women’s rights in the last several decades.

Public finance fellow Joyce Beebe outlines the benefits of paid family leave for U.S. families and society in general, examines the experiences of three states with paid family leave, and presents policy issues that should be taken into consideration to successfully craft a nationwide paid family leave program.

Is President Trump's April 2017 executive order calling for a review of the H-1B visa program bad news for foreign workers?

A universally agreed-upon definition of the U.S.-Mexico border region is elusive, to say the least. The boundaries vary widely depending on the government entity or academic institution involved. This brief reviews the many officially sanctioned definitions of the region, and explains why a consensus is necessary for effective border management.