Research Library

Nonresident scholar Julie Cohn explores the history of the giant interconnecting machine that linked the majority of power users across the country from 1967 to 1975. Proceedings of the IEEE, Dec. 28, 2018.

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.

There is a growing global momentum to address the critical economic and environmental problem of plastic waste management. Fellow Rachel A. Meidl discusses the key elements and causes of this problem and explores policy actions for reducing the reliance on single-use plastics.

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts offers a starting point for compromise to revitalize the corporate income tax, fellows Jorge Barro and Joyce Beebe write in this issue brief.

In its primacy over trade matters under the U.S. Constitution, Congress has broad authority over new and existing trade agreements and could seek to block a "modernized" NAFTA that excludes Canada.  Whether Congress has the political will or the votes to do so remains to be seen.

By Mustafa Gurbuz, Ph.D., Arab Center, Washington D.C. The Syrian civil war drastically changed the future prospects of Kurds in both Syria and Iraq. This brief examines the challenges that prevent a politically inclusive culture in Syrian Kurdistan—popularly known as Rojava—and Iraqi Kurdistan. This brief and research paper are part of a project 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.

Mexico Center director Tony Payan weighs in on what President Trump calls "maybe the greatest trade deal ever" between the U.S. and Mexico.

On April 3, 2018, Energy Dialogues and the Center for Energy Studies co-hosted an event in which representatives from academia, industry and NGOs discussed three important themes in the oil and gas industry: economy, environmental stewardship and coalition building. This report summarizes the day's events.

The author reviews some of the regulatory, financial and planning challenges for electricity transmission. Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy symposium: http://bit.ly/2KMRUvf.

This brief examines trends in energy demand patterns highlighted by 2018 energy outlooks prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the International Energy Agency, and BP.