Research Library

Disease and poverty fellow Peter J. Hotez examines the rise of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Texas, arguing that the spread of diseases like chikungunya West Nile, Zika and Ebola has not occurred by accident but instead reflects rapidly evolving changes and shifts in a “new” Texas beset by modern and globalizating forces.

This report summarizes the key findings from a workshop on Tunisian politics and Islam the Baker Institute hosted at the Al-Kawakibi Democracy Transition Center in Tunis on Feb. 12.

Nonresident scholar Elizabeth Salamanca provides an overview of the main types of visas obtained by highly skilled migrants, and how each visa category could potentially change under the Trump administration.

The authors examine the arguments for and against source-based capital income taxation, focusing on the factors that countries must balance in thinking about the extent to which they should rely on a corporate income tax as a significant source of revenue.

In February 2018, the Baker Institute, the American University of Beirut’s Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York held a two-day conference in Beirut to examine critical challenges and effective policy options for fostering more inclusive and pluralistic systems in the MENA. Leading experts discussed issues such as post-conflict reconstruction and the economic, political, and socio-religious dimensions of pluralism and inclusion in the MENA. This report summarizes some of the participants' discussions and proposals.

McNair Center director Edward J. Egan discusses venture capital in testimony to House Small Business and Economic Development Committee.

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 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 Ministry of the Interior estimates there could be 430,000 to 600,000 children and youth who are U.S. citizens but now reside in Mexico. Without the necessary documents, they become a vulnerable population without proper access to schools or social and health services. This brief explores the issues related to this population and calls for more research to be done to understand its impact.