Research Library

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, which became law in mid-March, left out the mandate to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, but it did lead to an open policy discussion about current minimum wage standards. In a post for the Baker Institute Blog, public finance fellow Joyce Beebe considers some of the pros and cons of increasing the minimum wage and possible future developments.

The atmospheric concentration of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) — the most potent greenhouse gas known to humanity and a chemical that is frequently used as an electrical insulator — is growing and thereby contributing to global warming. In a post for the Baker Institute blog, experts from the Center for Energy Studies explain whether we should be worried and what can be done to mitigate the risks.

The relationship between President Joe Biden and Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has not been easy, and emerging trade issues are about to make it worse.

"Although there is evidence that living in a low-income neighborhood can have negative health impacts, resident and neighborhood attributes [such as the ability to bounce back from adversity] can be mitigating factors,” write the authors.

Vaccines and other biomedical advances will not be sufficient to halt COVID-19, unless we simultaneously counter anti-science aggression, writes Peter Hotez, fellow in disease and poverty, in a new article for PLOS Biology.

Sanctions against Venezuela have reduced PDVSA and the Maduro regime's revenues, but they have failed to lead to a path toward democracy or avert Venezuela’s economic and humanitarian collapse. The authors offer policy options for the Biden administration's consideration.

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

How can the U.S. government help the recovery of the post-transition Venezuelan oil and gas sector? The authors offer key recommendations.

Researchers explore states' responses to the pandemic and a possible association between the strictness of lockdowns and the COVID-19 death rate.

When President-elect Joe Biden assumes office in January, he will be compelled to deal with the most important and ferociously complicated geopolitical question the United States faces today: how to manage its relations with China. Fellow Joe Barnes explains how the U.S.-China situation differs from the Cold War dynamic, and how the U.S. will best be served in the years ahead. Read more at the Baker Institute Blog.