Although the media often portrays migration at the U.S.-Mexico border as a “crisis,” experts Kelsey Norman and Ana Martín Gil argue that this depiction lacks nuance and sidesteps possible solutions. This report provides a more realistic view of the situation and offers key policy recommendations.
Attempts to undermine church-state separation in Texas reached a crescendo in 2023, writes nonresident scholar David R. Brockman. In this paper, he explores how three high-profile bills introduced during the state’s 88th legislative session threatened to tear down the wall between church and state.
The energy transition process depends on investments in clean technologies to cut down carbon emissions in various sectors of the economy. In a new working paper, visiting research fellow Osamah Alsayegh focuses on Arab Gulf states as a case study and proposes policies to mitigate the potential negative impacts of the transition process on affected sectors.
COP28 brought together world leaders, climate experts, and other key stakeholders to discuss progress on global climate goals. As a member of the Turkish delegation, Rice faculty scholar Gökçe Günel offers her take on the summit’s outcomes.
What's behind the rise of U.S. manufacturers “nearshoring” to Mexico? In this report, fellow David A. Gantz explores the historical drivers fueling this trend and the reasons why Mexico may struggle to attract foreign investment in the near future.
Concerns over a potential flood of low-priced electric vehicles are growing, both within the Biden administration and in Congress. In a new working paper, Will Clayton Fellow in Trade and International Economics David A. Gantz discusses the current situation, along with remedial legal and practical measures likely to be applied.
Media stories have raised concerns about Florida’s expansion of advanced trauma centers, with newly designated centers charging high trauma activation fees for relatively minor injuries, and Texas has experienced similar expansion in the last decade. In a new working paper, Chair in Health Economics Vivian Ho and her co-authors study the association between trauma center upgrades and patient outcomes — examining Texas commercial claims to track changes in spending, mortality, and readmissions of trauma patients
In June 2023, the international boundary treaty governing the U.S.-Mexico border came under attack from Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lonestar. In a new research paper, nonresident scholars Stephen Mumme and Regina M. Buono outline the treaty’s history and examine key issues — advising on merits of recent challenges and long-term implications for the binational relationship between the United States and Mexico.
Electricity demand in Texas is evolving, posing major challenges for grid reliability. Center for Energy Studies experts lay out ways ERCOT, Texas’ grid operator, can enhance reliability and resource adequacy.
Peter R. Hartley, Kenneth B. Medlock III, Shih Yu (Elsie) HungFebruary 7, 2024