Research Library

In testimony to the Texas House of Representatives Transportation Committee, fellow Gabriel Collins discusses how oil and gas activity is impacting state and county roads across Texas and offers recommendations on how to improve road quality and safety.

Fellow Joyce Beebe analyzes how changes to the exclusion limits for estate taxes passed under the 2017 tax reform will impact taxpayers and state and federal governments.

Rice faculty scholar Leslie Schwindt-Bayer shares key findings from a recently published book she edited, “Gender and Representation in Latin America," which examines the factors that help increase women’s political presence in Latin American governments.

Patterns of charitable contributions in the U.S. and the impact of recent tax changes to charitable giving are examined. 

This brief explores the Trump administration's policy toward Iran and analyzes the ways in which it differs from that of the Obama administration.

This report analyzes the comparable transactions method for valuing groundwater, which involves examining transactions for groundwater purchases or sales to gather pricing information, and explores how this method can be applied to groundwater valuations in Texas.

Mexico's 18-to-35 year old demographic, the largest voting bloc in the country, could have a historic impact at the polls when voters select a new president on July 1.

This month, the Syrian Civil War will have lasted seven years. The authors of this brief explore how the United States — first under President Barack Obama and now under President Donald Trump — has struggled to develop a coherent strategy that balances U.S. interests in the conflict with the military, financial and diplomatic resources necessary to pursue them.

Cultural myths — and by extension, the suppositions they inspire — have played a major role in shaping Venezuela's relationship with and management of oil resources throughout much of the last 100 years, writes nonresident fellow Luis Pacheco. To achieve sustainable economic and social development, Venezuela must move beyond such beliefs and establish a new approach that is more attuned to current times.

This brief on the Trump administration's approach to the battle against ISIS is the first of a three-part series on America's foreign policy in the Middle East. Subsequent reports will examine U.S. policy in Syria and the intensified competition between Iran and traditional U.S. partners in the region, notably Saudi Arabia and Israel.