Research Library

Fellows Joyce Beebe and Edward M. Emmett discuss the child care shortage in the U.S. and evaluate a variety of policy solutions.

How can lawmakers fix America’s crumbling child care system? Fellow Joyce Beebe reviews four popular policy proposals to expand child care and examines their potential benefits and pitfalls.

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.

Child labor laws are failing migrant children. As children from Latin America migrate to the United States in record numbers, many are ending up in dangerous jobs that violate child labor legislation. What steps are needed to ensure that vulnerable migrant children are protected from exploitation?

Any substantial reduction in gun violence will require a comprehensive approach to the issue, write the authors of a report on the reality of firearm violence in the Houston area.

This report examines how and why corporations buy back shares and whether an excise tax on share buybacks is efficient.

The pandemic spurred a rollercoaster of quick, subsequent economic events in three years that might normally occur across three decades: record unemployment, a brief recession, federal assistance, highest inflation since the 1980s, interest rate increases, and in 2023, concerns regarding a looming recession. Some U.S. consumers have dealt with the aftermath of this whiplash by shifting their spending and saving behaviors. Our experts discuss U.S. consumer trends since the pandemic — what’s stayed the same, new phenomena, and notable policy developments. 

The unemployment insurance (UI) system is facing a perfect storm of problems: the pandemic has led to a surge in jobless claims, which is severely straining state UI trusts that weren't fully prepared for a recession. This report reviews the UI system and potential measures to mitigate challenges current downturn.

Soda taxes have been proposed to help curb consumption and improve health outcomes. Fellow Joyce Beebe reviews recent attempts at taxing these beverages and provides practical policy solutions.

Digital products are becoming increasingly widespread in the U.S., which is prompting state authorities to assess the taxability of these products. In this report, fellow Joyce Beebe reviews the current landscape and possible future developments in the taxation of digital products.