Research Library

Some states still face challenges with racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 vaccine distribution, and Texas is one of them. How might we avoid these inequities in the future?  The authors explain in the Baker Institute Blog.

Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have experienced a massive surge in popularity over the last year. How do SPACs work, and what are some of the tax implications that investors may overlook? Public finance fellow Joyce Beebe explains on the Baker Institute Blog: https://bit.ly/3t5eMH8

2021 changes to Mexico’s Hydrocarbon Law are expressions of state power through legal reforms, and are exceptionally alarming. Nonresident scholar Miriam Grunstein explains in the Baker Institute Blog.

Ken Medlock explains why the price of WTI crude collapsed into previously unchartered, negative territory on April 20, 2020, and what to expect next. Read his post in the Baker Institute Blog.  This blog originally appeared in Forbes on April 21, 2020.

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

Driven by pandemic-related concerns, Americans are shifting away from cash toward digital payment transactions. Is COVID-19 fast-forwarding us to a cashless society? Read Joyce Beebe's take at the Baker Institute Blog.

In late July, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar delivered a bleak economic outlook for the state’s economy: the amount of general revenue funds available for the current biennium is expected to be $11.5 billion less than originally estimated. Should the state tap into its rainy day fund to offset the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and facilitate a stable recovery?

President López Obrador was skeptical of the coronavirus threat and ignored the recommendations of his own health experts. He downplayed the crisis and relied on his intuition instead of science, with disastrous results. He will be even more distracted in the coming months as he campaigns for re-election.

The death of George Floyd has accelerated calls for police reform. Although decriminalizing drugs and the people who use them will not end police violence, it is part of the structural change needed to fix the problem, writes fellow Katharine Neill Harris.