Research Library

By Paul Lagunes, Baker Institute for Public Policy; Xiaoxuan Yang, Columbia University; and Andrés Castro, Columbia University. Corruption is a persistent problem throughout Latin America. Higher rates of perceived corruption are associated with lower levels of economic welfare and direct foreign investment, write the authors.

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

Religion nonresident scholar David R. Brockman examines an attempt to force the removal of Tarrant County GOP vice chair Dr. Shahid Shafi because he is Muslim. The paper places the controversy within the context of Islamophobia in politics and outlines the challenges the case presents for the Republican Party both nationally and statewide.

On Sept. 13, 2018, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and George Washington University’s Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS) co-hosted the conference “Building Inclusive and Pluralistic States Post-Arab Spring.” The conference was the culmination of a two-year project funded by the Carnegie Corporation and showcased research by leading scholars of the Middle East on political, economic and socio-religious inclusion in Arab states since 2011. This report addresses some of the conference’s key conclusions and policy recommendations for U.S. policymakers concerned with the future stability of the Middle East.

If the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is approved, this modified and modernized version of NAFTA will govern most economic relationships in North America. David A. Gantz, the Will Clayton Fellow in Trade and International Economics, reviews the USMCA and discusses its positive and negative elements.

By Kirstin R.W. Matthews and Melody T. Tan Vaccines and vaccine exemptions are increasingly contentious issues in Texas. In this issue brief, the authors dispel five common misconceptions about vaccines that were presented during public hearings at the Texas House of Representatives in 2017.

In this brief, the authors analyze transcripts from public hearrings at the Texas legislature to identify key arguments against school-mandated vaccinations. To ensure public health, policymakers and other stakeholders should be well informed about vaccines, the impact of vaccine-preventable disease, and the risks associated with putting absolute individual rights above public health concerns, they conclude.

Lebanon faces significant developmental challenges, including insufficient electricity supply, environmental degradation and staggering inequality, yet the government has not invested in these areas despite substantial economic growth in recent decades. This student brief uses agenda-setting theory to argue that Lebanon’s disappointing record of development is reflected in the narrow political agenda of the government. This brief is part of a two-year project on pluralism and inclusion in the Middle East post-Arab Spring. The project is generously supported by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

How can Egypt become a more inclusive state for the different ethnic and religious groups in the country? This student brief examines the status of Egypt’s different ethnic and religious communities and intercommunal divisions, with an emphasis on the policy implications of entrenching pluralism.

By Tahani Al Terkait, Durham University Two recent examples of gender politics in Kuwait reveal the challenges with women's integration in the socio-religious sphere of Kuwaiti society, writes the author. This is the fourth brief resulting from a May 2018 workshop held in Kuwait by the Baker Institute in partnership with the Alsalam Center for Strategic and Developmental Studies. This work is part of a two-year project funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York on “Building Pluralistic and Inclusive States Post-Arab Spring.”