Research Library

Legalizing recreational marijuana was intended to remedy the racially disparate effects of cannabis prohibition. But new research from our experts finds persistent racial disparities in the legal system’s practice of mandating treatment for cannabis use.

Baker Institute Rice faculty scholar Luz M. Garcini and co-authors analyze existing research on the compounded stressors and health risks faced by undocumented Latino older adults in the United States. Using a Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) lens, they examine the environments, conditions, and social structures that influence health risks, and provide policy and advocacy recommendations to address the issues.

Armed conflicts in the Middle East and Europe and a strained relationship with China mean that U.S. foreign policy is currently operating in crisis mode. Fellow Joe Barnes discusses the many challenges we face and how multiple issues are contributing to this perfect storm.

Progress on the UN’s sustainable development goals — aimed at achieving peace and prosperity for all people and the planet — has been slow. However, fellow Harris A. Eyre and his co-authors explain how applying a brain capital framework could change the trajectory.

Elizabeth M. Mendoza offers nine commonsense actions Congress can take to provide immigration relief and protect U.S. national and economic security.

Republicans are ready to support Israel. But what about Ukraine? As the war between Israel and Hamas intensifies, fellow Joe Barnes examines the shifting focus of U.S. foreign policy and what it means for Kyiv.

Are our views of sustainability becoming distorted by the often unsubstantiated “green” actions of companies and organizations? This brief explores why we urgently need a new framework for sustainability — one that relies on a holistic, cross-disciplinary, and multidimensional life cycle approach.

With Mexico's 2024 elections quickly approaching, will democracy prevail, or will the nation backslide into a one-party system?

As China appears ever closer to attempting a coercive annexation of Taiwan, this report explores how such a move could trigger a chain of nuclear proliferation — potentially adding thousands more warheads to stockpiles globally.

Prioritizing the safety and capacity of reconstruction workers can speed up the disaster recovery process and make communities more resilient to future hazards, write Drs. William Brett Perkison and Bill Christian, researchers at UTHealth Houston.