Research Library

Soda taxes have been proposed to help curb consumption and improve health outcomes. Fellow Joyce Beebe reviews recent attempts at taxing these beverages and provides practical policy solutions.

The authors assess U.S. health care system and offer a plan for achieving universal health care. The Lancet: http://bit.ly/2lSaqX6

The author reviews the evolution of labor and environmental rights in U.S. free trade agreements and evaluates such provisions in the USMCA.

By providing regulated and safe access to medical cannabis to people with demonstrated need, the Texas Legislature can provide justified relief, help reduce the opioid epidemic, and save Texas millions of dollars, write the authors.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 placed a $10,000 limit on the amount of state and local taxes taxpayers may deduct on their federal income tax returns. In this report, public finance fellow Joyce Beebe examines the pros and cons of the limit and state-level efforts to circumvent the cap.

Lauded as “The Pastor to the Presidents,” the late evangelist Billy Graham met with or gave counsel to every sitting commander-in-chief from Truman to Trump. This report, drawn from the author's book "A Prophet with Honor: The Billy Graham Story" (William Morrow, 1991; updated edition, Zondervan, 2019), provides insight on their relationships.

Measuring the costs of corruption around the world is challenging due to varying definitions of corruption, the invisibility of many corrupt acts, and the subjectivity of perceptions. In this research paper, postdoctoral research fellow Jose I. Rodriguez-Sanchez explores the difficulties of measuring corruption in Mexico.

The sharing economy — an industry that includes a number of mostly online enterprises such as Uber and Airbnb that match service providers with clients — poses sweeping legal, commercial and social challenges. Fellow Joyce Beebe analyzes key federal tax considerations for companies and workers in this growing sector.

Why do unaccompanied minors flee their home countries and what happens when they reach Mexico or the United States?  This report provides an overview of the perilous journey and the reality of detention centers, concluding that a child-centric approach in both countries should address the needs of these children.

Given the current dearth of women exercising Islamic authority, it may be assumed that for most of Islamic history, questions of religion and religious law were the near-exclusive domain of men. This brief discusses the various roles and contributions of women in Islam and religious scholarship and outlines recommendations for improving attitudes towards women in religious leadership in Muslim countries. This is one of 10 briefs in a series on pluralism and inclusion in the Middle East after the Arab Spring. The project is generously supported by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.