Research Library

This issue brief argues that continued investments in global health and the study of emerging pathogens could yield better tools to fight infectious diseases like the Zika virus long before they become a problem in the developed world.

Mexico’s Senate is currently deliberating an amendment to the constitution that aims to eliminate corruption — an endemic problem in Mexico. However, the National Anti-Corruption System Act is not as the government and its allies would have the public believe. Instead, it is full of contradictions.

Tunisia is widely regarded as having one of the most liberal approaches to family law and women’s rights in the region. Yet for nearly 60 years of authoritarian rule — as women’s rights were championed in public discourse, in national legislation and on the international scene — the government did not hesitate to brutalize women through torture and other gross human rights violations, according to more than 15,000 testimonies recently collected by a Tunisian state commission.

In a July 5 referendum, Greeks overwhelmingly rejected the terms of a bailout proposed by international creditors. Baker Institute Rice scholar Ted Temzelides blogs on the surprisingly strong vote against the rescue package, and what may lie ahead.

The accession of a new king in Saudi Arabia and the kingdom’s intervention in Yemen have overshadowed important moves to reform two of the kingdom’s key institutions. Incoming King Salman has taken steps to prepare Saudi Arabia for a new generation of leaders, both within the royal family and among the world’s largest oil export sector and its marquee company, Saudi Aramco. The changes involve installing new personalities into key positions and shifting the roles of long-serving managers. "Overall, the moves ought to enhance the resilience of the kingdom and its economy by shifting leadership responsibilities to a younger generation," writes fellow Jim Krane.

The percentage of Texans without health insurance dropped 31 percent since enrollment began in the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) Health Insurance Marketplace, according to a new report released today by Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Episcopal Health Foundation.

The current electoral labyrinth in Egypt continues to pose a significant challenge to creating a just and all-inclusive political system. Despite the myriad electoral reforms and constitutional amendments passed in the past four years, women continue to play a minor role in the decision-making process in postrevolutionary Egypt. The new constitution unveiled in early 2014 lacks a constitutional provision or a quota system that would guarantee equal political representation for women; this will negatively impact women’s ability to exert influence in the political arena.

Genomic testing is a rapidly growing field, especially in cancer medicine, where it can be used to match patients to the most effective targeted treatment. In the past decade, we have seen rapid growth in the number of new genomic tests that are available. However, genomic testing is usually very expensive, raising the question of whether the testing is worth the cost.

Qatar’s reforms have opened the floodgates of women’s opportunities in education and defined the small nation as a hub of research and higher learning within the greater Middle East. What are the implications of the abundance of highly educated women in Qatar?

In this paper, author Peter Hartley examines the recent evolution of markets for LNG, focusing especially on the increasing amount of LNG being traded spot or under short-term contracts of less than four-years duration. Hartley argues that explanations for this increase, and other recent changes in LNG trading, imply that the proportion of LNG being traded under long-term contracts is likely to continue to decline and that the flexibility of long-term contracts for trading LNG is likely to continue to increase.