Research Library

The UN adopted new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the end of September 2015. Using data from the Arab Millennium Development Goals Report, research analyst Ariana Marnicio recommends the Arab world primarily focus on three SDGs to improve the lives of women

Though drops in oil prices stand to impact Saudi Arabia’s economic stability, the government has turned to drawing down its foreign reserves and issuing bonds to alleviate budgetary pressures and avoid drastic domestic spending cuts. Fellow for the Middle East Kristian Coates Ulrichsen writes in the Baker Institute Blog: http://bit.ly/1fKLWG9.

Despite enviable increases in educational attainment, women in the MENA countries may fare less well in attaining a form of social capital integral to their ability to exercise full political, economic and social agency: wasta — loosely, clout, or using one’s connections and/or influence to get things done.

The core strategies of the U.S. War on Drugs are eradication, interdiction and incarceration. After a 40-year and trillion-dollar effort, illicit drugs remain available to meet a remarkably stable demand. Drawing on decades of government-gathered and publicly available data, William Martin, director of the Drug Policy Program, and contributing expert Jerry Epstein contend that U.S. drug policy is premised on incorrect assumptions, aims at the wrong targets and can never succeed. But because these data run counter to a century of anti-drug propaganda, they play only a small role in public policy, mass-media presentation and popular perception. In this policy report, Martin and Epstein call for a reexamination of the data and sweeping revision of existing strategies. They urge formation of a politically independent national scientific commission, its members chosen by the National Academy of Sciences, in consultation with the NIH and the Department of Health and Human Services, to facilitate open examination and honest consideration of alternatives to current failed or flawed policies.

While global attention in West Africa is focused on the emergence of Ebola virus infection, new information from the published literature and World Health Organization databases reveals that many other neglected tropical diseases are far more widespread and also require urgent attention.

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.

This report reviews the key concepts and themes that emerged from the conference “Divided Societies, Volatile States: The Politics of Identity Post-Arab Spring,” hosted by the Baker Institute Center for the Middle East on March 10, 2015.

Peter Hotez, fellow in disease and poverty, testified about the continuing threat of neglected tropical diseases before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is starting her second term in office facing economic and political problems that feed into each other. These problems can be attributed to a large extent to mistakes her administration made during her first term. Rousseff’s macroeconomic policy proved to be inconsistent, and the choices she made in some key economic sectors, especially energy, were demonstrably disastrous. Rousseff now faces the enormous challenge of reconciling the leftwing populism that led her to victory with the inescapable need to regain the trust of the most dynamic sectors of Brazilian society, including the private sector.

On Feb. 24, 2015, public finance fellow John Diamond testified on tax reform before U.S. Senate Finance Committee.