Research Library

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.

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

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.

In early 2017, Mayor Sylvester Turner appointed Baker Institute fellow Quianta Moore to his newly created Task Force on Equity, which was charged with developing actionable policy recommendations to make Houston a more equitable place to live.

Mexico initiated a series of structural reforms in 2013, including major changes to policies governing telecommunications. Nonresident scholar Clara Luz Álvarez explores the implications of a recent ruling by Mexico’s Supreme Court on one of the related laws passed by Congress in a blog post for the Baker Institute Blog.

The author assesses the impact of inequality in Latin America and the methods used to measure it. 

In testimony before the U.S. House Budget Committee, public finance fellow John Diamond outlines steps to reduce projected federal expenditures and reform the U.S. tax system to maximize economic growth.

Public finance fellow Joyce Beebe outlines the benefits of paid family leave for U.S. families and society in general, examines the experiences of three states with paid family leave, and presents policy issues that should be taken into consideration to successfully craft a nationwide paid family leave program.

China Studies fellow Steve Lewis offers an approach to increase and strengthen the number of “contact points” between the Trump administration and the future leadership of China.

Will the currently proposed reforms to the Affordable Care Act raise the proportion of Texans without health insurance coverage? In this issue of the Health Policy Newsletter, the authors analyze the potential impact of proposed legislation to repeal and replace the ACA.