Research Library

The UK recently announced that it will pursue commercial arrangements with up to 20 individual U.S. states, beginning with Texas. In this brief, fellow David Gantz explores what these arrangements could achieve and the potential legal and constitutional constraints that may limit their reach.

Although Texans broadly support relaxing cannabis laws and other criminal justice reforms, state leaders continue the war on drugs and other policies that propagate systemic racism, writes fellow Katharine Neill Harris.

The first of a two-part series on the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party analyzes the rise to power of President Xi Jinping and his use of propaganda to transform a celebration of the CCP into a celebration of China and its leader.

Why have consumer credit scores gone up during the pandemic?  In this brief, public finance fellow Joyce Beebe discusses the disconnect between credit scores and other economic indicators, and the public policies behind the rising scores.

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.

Immigration policy will look very different in a Trump or Joe Biden presidency. This brief summarizes changes that have occurred under the Trump administration so far and examines the repercussions of the November election on four aspects of immigration policy.

Public health and economic measures enacted to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and mitigate the financial impact on families have unintended consequences for low-income women and their children. The authors explain why.

In late November, Hong Kong's high court ruled that a government ban on face masks was unconstitutional. This brief analyzes Beijing's subsequent response that, if enforced, may signal the extension of unchecked central dictatorship over Hong Kong’s political apparatus.

By Kirstin R.W. Matthews and Melody T. Tan Vaccines and vaccine exemptions are increasingly contentious issues in Texas. In this issue brief, the authors dispel five common misconceptions about vaccines that were presented during public hearings at the Texas House of Representatives in 2017.

In this brief, the authors analyze transcripts from public hearrings at the Texas legislature to identify key arguments against school-mandated vaccinations. To ensure public health, policymakers and other stakeholders should be well informed about vaccines, the impact of vaccine-preventable disease, and the risks associated with putting absolute individual rights above public health concerns, they conclude.