Research Library

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) evaluations impact firms' market value, but inconsistencies and uncertainties in these assessments suggest that following past practice may not be the best way forward. The future lies in a more focused version of ESG principles, one that resembles environmental risk management.

Can urban design impact our brain health? This issue brief explores how cities can be redesigned to improve our mental well-being and promote healthy aging.

The issue brief explores Mexico’s financial inclusion as an obstacle for development, based on an index developed by the author, expert Jesús Antonio López Cabrera.

Is the U.S. headed for a recession? History tells us a near-term recession is unlikely — but emergent threats like unregulated crypto exchanges and U.S. debt servicing necessitate further measures to mitigate economic risk, writes public finance fellow Jorge Barro.

An increasing number of states have begun to contemplate state-administered individual retirement account programs. How do these differ from employer-sponsored plans? And would they be able to provide workers with meaningful retirement savings? Public finance fellow Joyce Beebe explains.

With center-right President Emmanuel Macron facing off against extreme-right Marine Le Pen, what’s in store for the French presidential election next April? In a new brief, Baker Institute faculty scholar Julie Fette and William Tsai, Rice '24, examine the polls, platforms and possibilities.

Fellow Jorge Barro studies U.S. capital markets to provide a long-term outlook on the macroeconomic consequences of unbalanced debt growth.

When illegal workers use false documents to get a job in the U.S., their employers may complete the paperwork by deducting Social Security, federal, state and Medicare taxes from each paycheck. As of 2010, illegal workers have contributed $12 billion to the Social Security system alone. Such workers face poverty in old age, as they are barred from collecting retirement benefits because of their immigration status, and they have not accrued a pension in their home country.

Many argue that sales and excise taxes are regressive based on the strict relationship between annual income and taxes paid, but the burden of higher sales taxes may actually fall more heavily on households with higher lifetime incomes.