Research Library

In early 2017, Mayor Sylvester Turner appointed Baker Institute fellow Quianta Moore to his newly created Task Force on Equity, which was charged with developing actionable policy recommendations to make Houston a more equitable place to live.

Faculty scholar Jim Blackburn proposes a series of realistic ideas that can substantially reduce misery and damage the next time a catastrophic storm like Harvey tears through the Houston-Galveston area. 

This paper examines Mexican skilled migration to Texas, particularly to Houston, and explores the factors that motivate such migrants to emigrate, whether they intend to return to Mexico permanently or remain in the U.S. and in what ways they contribute to knowledge-transfer activities between the U.S. and Mexico in health care research.

The migration of high-skilled professionals from Mexico to the U.S. has myriad impacts, economic and otherwise. The author examines the state of high-skilled migration and questions that should be answered on both sides of the border before changes are made to the current system.

Confusion over the Texas' voter I.D. law may have kept some people from casting a ballot in the 2016 elections, even though most could have complied, according to a study led by political science fellow Mark Jones. Latino voters were affected most significantly.

Criminal extortion is on the rise in Mexico, particularly along the northern border states. Author Gary Hale shows how this trend has fueled government corruption, with officials implicitly or explicitly aiding organized crime groups as they extort businesses and citizens.

This research paper examines the potential market for a system that would pay landowners to restore natural ecosystems, such as native prairies and oyster reefs, that protect the Gulf Coast from hurricane and severe storm damage.

This paper argues that the Texas social studies curriculum does not offer balanced coverage of world religions, due in large part to intervention by conservative members of the Texas State Board of Education. The paper identifies examples of imbalanced coverage in social studies texts and offers recommendations for broadening coverage of religion in Texas public schools.

The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the Texas voter ID law, ruling that it violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The decision cites a 2015 study by Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and the University of Houston Hobby Center for Public Policy.

This paper critiques the Mexican government's efforts to train the country's workers for jobs created by energy reforms.