Donor-advised funds (DAFs) have experienced substantial growth in recent years, prompting debate about abuses of this tax-advantaged vehicle and what policies should be adopted to close loopholes. Fellow Joyce Beebe reviews the design of DAFs, common criticisms, recent policy developments, and opponents’ arguments against additional regulations.

Baker Institute Rice faculty scholar Luz M. Garcini and co-authors analyze existing research on the compounded stressors and health risks faced by undocumented Latino older adults in the United States. Using a Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) lens, they examine the environments, conditions, and social structures that influence health risks, and provide policy and advocacy recommendations to address the issues.

Progress on the UN’s sustainable development goals — aimed at achieving peace and prosperity for all people and the planet — has been slow. However, fellow Harris A. Eyre and his co-authors explain how applying a brain capital framework could change the trajectory.

Introduction

Countries face dynamic, multidimensional and interconnected crises. The pandemic, climate change, rising…

“Green brain capital” places a central emphasis on the brain to deliver a healthy environment, and likewise on a green environment to safeguard brain health. The authors look at the existing literature and explain how this concept can help us build a sustainable future.

How can advocates move the needle on immigration reform? Engaging policymakers through storytelling and combating misinformation are key, according to the American Psychological Association's Katherine B. McGuire.

The issue brief explores Mexico’s financial inclusion as an obstacle for development, based on an index developed by the author, expert Jesús Antonio López Cabrera.

How much can demographic changes account for trends in the U.S. economy? This paper shows that a heterogeneous-agent, overlapping-generations model with historical demographic flows can generate several features of the U.S. economy over the past several decades, including a secular decline in economic growth, a rise in savings relative to GDP, a corresponding decline in real interest rates, and, in part, changes in wealth inequality.

The authors explore a causal relationship between the 2017 tax reform and a decline in wealth inequality.

Many economists are concerned that automation will result in a loss of jobs. This work shows that is not the issue, and that the two main effects of automation are increased inequality and economic growth.