Research Library

This brief explores pressing issues the Biden administration should address in developing a strategy for the Middle East. It provides analysis and policy recommendations related to the GCC states, U.S.-Iran relations, Islamist groups, and refugees and migration. Further CME publications will address issues such as the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace and the crisis in Lebanon.

The current situation at the U.S.-Mexico border is neither a unique crisis nor the result (yet) of President Biden’s policy changes.

Fellow Katharine Neill Harris testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on the failed war on drugs and solutions based on racial justice and harm reduction.

What are Mexico's prospects for immigration, trade and more, after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's virtual meeting with President Biden? "Mexico will have to do some heavy lifting," predicts Tony Payan, director of the Center for the United States and Mexico.

In this brief, public finance fellow Jorge Barro explains some of the long-term economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and argues that policymakers can prepare for the impending macroeconomic shortfalls by maintaining a commitment to improving education, prioritizing immigration and resolving fiscal imbalances.

The author draws links between pandemics, the economy, nature and energy, showing that policies reducing the probability of future pandemics are a solid investment.

Energy fellow Michelle Michot Foss explains why hydrocarbons are critical minerals for the energy transition and decarbonization efforts.

Effective drug policy requires acceptance that, for better or worse, licit and illicit drug use is part of our world. The authors recommend several steps the federal government can take to facilitate more pragmatic and effective drug policy at all levels of government.

As the Budget Control Act nears expiry, it is important to reflect on its effectiveness — does the BCA provide a framework for curtailing unsustainable deficits and moving to a sustainable fiscal policy?  Read the authors' analysis at the Baker Institute Blog.

If the global economy is to recover after the pandemic, the United States must reestablish mutually beneficial economic relations with China. But the new administration should be careful to resist unrestrained Chinese "soft power" influence on our education, research and creative industries.