Research Library

It may pay to shop around for health care. New legislation requiring transparency in health insurance coverage allows price comparisons between hospitals, across hospital systems, and with different insurers. In a new issue brief, Vivian Ho and co-author Evelyn Li compare quality and analyze pricing data from Houston area hospitals.

Earlier this year, proposed regulations on video games tanked Chinese gaming stocks. It's a sign that tough governance is ahead — for both digital content industries and governments around the world, writes researcher Brandon Zheng.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative recently stepped back from ongoing negotiations on digital trade at the World Trade Organization, citing unsettled domestic policy, and suspended support for digital trade rules in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework too. But if the U.S. wants to be a part of the conversation, it should reengage and help craft rules flexible enough to meet its future domestic policy needs, writes nonresident fellow Simon Lester.

Fifty years after the 1973 oil embargo, Baker Institute Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East and Center for Energy Studies hosted a conference to examine lessons learned from the embargo and their renewed relevance for today’s energy crises. Featuring remarks from His Royal Highness Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud, the conference also included expert panels with industry leaders, other former policymakers, and academics.

Qualities like amazing tensile strength and electrical conductivity offer a huge range of uses for carbon nanotubes. In a new policy brief, fellow Rachel A. Meidl and her co-authors Dana Goerzen and Daniel A. Heller explain that to ensure carbon nanotubes’ role in a circular, sustainable economy, a coordinated system for classifying, testing, and identifying CNTs and a life cycle approach to risk assessments are needed to better understand impacts to facilitate consistent communication among researchers, industries, and policymakers.

Turkey currently hosts nearly 4 million refugees — predominantly Syrians who have fled their country’s civil war. Ensuring adequate legal protection for those seeking asylum and improving the capacity of Turkish institutions and civil society organizations to serve those in need is vital. This policy brief, based on a conversation with Refugee Solidarity Network founder and director Zaid Hydari, explains how domestic and international bodies can support the many refugees in Turkey.

A recent Supreme Court tax case about the constitutionality of the Mandatory Repatriation Tax (MRT) may have impacts far beyond the federal income tax regime. As we await the court’s final decision, fellow Joyce Beebe outlines the arguments and explains the possible wide-ranging implications of Moore v. United States.

In June 2023, the international boundary treaty governing the U.S.-Mexico border came under attack from Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lonestar. In a new research paper, nonresident scholars Stephen Mumme and Regina M. Buono outline the treaty’s history and examine key issues — advising on merits of recent challenges and long-term implications for the binational relationship between the United States and Mexico.

As foreign interference and the prevalence of disinformation test our democratic processes, election administrators must work across the aisle to demonstrate a shared commitment to healthy election systems at all levels of government. This report provides a framework for effective bipartisan policies that balance the linchpins required equitable access and integrity of the results.

The 2024 Mexico Country Outlook report analyzes key policy issues ahead of Mexico’s June 2024 elections, from foreign investment and regulatory challenges to migration and public security.