Research Library

In this paper for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, fellows Jorge Barro and John W. Diamond examine the history behind Texas’ property tax system, recent attempts to reduce the growing magnitude of the property tax burden, and the economic effects of two options for eliminating the school maintenance and operations (M&O) property tax: https://bit.ly/2zIZRZy 

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.

NAFTA has neither been the enormous success that its supporters believe, nor the disaster that its detractors claim. Renegotiating NAFTA — or even threatening to repeal it — is not a high-stakes proposition. The treaty simply does not possess the leverage to deliver a major boost or setback to the U.S. manufacturing sector. 

The author examines the performance and impact of Mexico’s Programa Frontera Sur, an effort designed to deter unauthorized migration of Central Americans through Mexico’s southern border.

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.

The number of high-skilled Mexican entrepreneurs migrating to the United States has increased in recent years, but the trend is not solely in response to organized crime activity in Mexico. This research paper analyzes the various push and pull factors that lead these entrepreneurs to seek opportunities in the United States.

The recent surge in Central American migration has challenged Mexico to implement policies that uphold human rights for migrants (especially unaccompanied children) who are passing through the country while also deterring unauthorized crossings at the southern border and cracking down on human smuggling and trafficking. However, finding the appropriate balance for these policies — with a humanitarian focus on the one hand and meeting larger “security concerns” on the other hand — has been elusive for the Mexican government. This paper discusses the historical and political context of Mexico’s various policy responses to the spike in Central American migration through Mexico toward the United States and analyzes related implications for the country’s relationships with the United States and its Central American neighbors.

To access the full paper, download the PDF on the left-hand sidebar.

By Christopher Bronk, Tory Gattis, Vivas Kumar and…

Introduction: What We Seek to Achieve¹

As the situation in the borderlands becomes more dire, there have been—and will…