President Donald Trump has announced that he will nominate CIA director Mike Pompeo to replace Rex Tillerson as secretary of state. Fellow Joe Barnes analyzes the implications of this decision and assesses Tillerson's short tenure as head of the State Department in a new post for the Baker Institute Blog.
Mexico's 18-to-35 year old demographic, the largest voting bloc in the country, could have a historic impact at the polls when voters select a new president on July 1.
This month, the Syrian Civil War will have lasted seven years. The authors of this brief explore how the United States — first under President Barack Obama and now under President Donald Trump — has struggled to develop a coherent strategy that balances U.S. interests in the conflict with the military, financial and diplomatic resources necessary to pursue them.
In this issue brief, the authors examine the amount of growth and transactional venture capital (VC) in Houston, finding the the city lacks sufficient levels of growth VC needed to support its goals of establishing a high-growth, high technology startup ecosystem.
The people of Costa Rica will face a dilemma when they vote for a new president on April 1, writes Erika de la Garza: In Carlos Alvarado they have a candidate whose party has failed to deliver the change it promised in the last election. His opponent, Fabricio Alvarado appeals to their conservative instincts but seems unconcerned about Costa Rica’s reputation for tolerance, respect for all human rights, and regard for international institutions.
The outlook for the Venezuelan oil industry and the broader economic and political challenges facing the country are intrinsically linked. This report summarizes possible political and economic scenarios, as well as potential next steps for the country, discussed during a workshop convened by Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy.
Since 2010, Mexico’s demand for natural gas has been accompanied by a decline in domestic production, making imports of this resource increasingly vital. The author of this brief argues that private and state-owned firms — from producers to pipeline operators — and a solid governmental regulatory apparatus must now help guarantee the consistent supply of natural gas.
The authors conducted mobile phone surveys on energy supply, demand and quality in 12 sub-Saharan African countries, finding that current grid and off-grid electricity supply is inadequate to meet consumers' demands.
A study comparing the community benefit expenditures of two sets of Houston hospitals leads the authors to propose strategies that can better justify the tax exemptions the institutions enjoy.
Alex Alexander, Marah Short, Vivian HoFebruary 8, 2018
Public finance fellow Thomas Hogan analyzes the relationship between bank lending and the Federal Reserve's policy of paying interest on excess reserves (IOER).