Research Library

Stephen Mumme, nonresident scholar at the Center for the United States and Mexico, explores the recent Rio Grande water war and its temporary resolution, arguing that the 1944 water treaty has once again proven resilient and adaptable to the challenges confronting both the United States and Mexico as they share their transboundary water resources.

Public finance fellow Joyce Beebe reviews the changing definition of employment, specifically looking at the current policy measures for providing benefits and protections to workers in the sharing economy. She also discusses concerns regarding workplace automation.

Immigration policy will look very different in a Trump or Joe Biden presidency. This brief summarizes changes that have occurred under the Trump administration so far and examines the repercussions of the November election on four aspects of immigration policy.

The authors compare the impacts of energy-related sanctions against Russia and a market-based geoeconomics policy, and suggest options for U.S. involvement in the region.

In a comprehensive update to their 2014 study on the future of American innovation, the Baker Institute and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences conclude that significant policy and funding actions are required to ensure the U.S. does not lose its preeminent position in discovery and innovation.

On September 16, energy fellow Michelle Michot Foss provided an overview of the role of critical minerals in creating a clean economy during testimony before the U.S. House of Representative's Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change. She also discussed the challenges associated with energy transitions, including import dependency and considerations for meeting environment, social and governance (ESG) goals.

This brief examines the legality of the decrees issued by the National Center for the Control of Energy (CENACE) and the Department of Energy (SENER) in Mexico earlier this year, which were intended to prevent renewable energy companies from connecting to the transmission grid.

Gabriel Collins, the Baker Botts Fellow in Energy & Environmental Regulatory Affairs, analyzes the impact of China’s emerging demographic decline, debt burden and increasingly likely structural economic growth downshift on global oil and gas markets.

Read the Baker Institute Blog for the latest updates on the spread of Covid-19 and the best defenses against it.

The drastic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on organized crime in Mexico requires policymakers and law enforcement in the U.S. and Mexico to adapt their strategies, the authors write.