Research Library

As foreign interference and the prevalence of disinformation test our democratic processes, election administrators must work across the aisle to demonstrate a shared commitment to healthy election systems at all levels of government. This report provides a framework for effective bipartisan policies that balance the linchpins required equitable access and integrity of the results.

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.

Blockchain technology is giving rise to a new global system that offers great promise for entrepreneurs and small businesses — but its potential will be stymied if government regulation hinders rather than embraces the transparency and democratization the technology offers, writes the author in this working paper.

This report finds that less than half of Texas hospitals are complying with federal price transparency regulations, despite a measure passed by the state Legislature intended to increase the financial penalty for noncompliance.

The authors write that enormous volumes of “energy transition waste” — waste from wind turbines, solar panels, lithium-ion batteries, etc. — are anticipated in the coming decades. To cope with this waste and ensure a sustainable energy transition, they call for more data, planning and coordination across the entire global supply chain, in addition to waste management and recycling policies that align with environmental and sustainability goals.

Recycling solar panels is an expensive, complicated and energy-intensive process, writes energy fellow Rachel Meidl. But with cumulative solar waste projections expected to rise globally over the next few decades, she argues that it is vital to design a more circular and sustainable management system for end-of-life panels.

Rachel A. Meidl, the fellow in energy and environment, writes that investing in nanotechnology research and development is critical for future decarbonization strategies that can drive U.S. leadership in the clean energy revolution, reduce dependencies on foreign markets, yield economic and national security advantages, and enhance environmental justice and energy independence.

Energy fellow Rachel A. Meidl describes how to ensure energy infrastructure resilience when dealing with catastrophic weather events like hurricanes.

Given the growing problems associated with plastics, what policy approaches are best equipped to manage global plastic pollution? Policies invoking a modified version of the precautionary principle might be a useful approach, writes energy fellow Rachel A. Meidl.

Since 2001, the White House Transition Project has provided reports to incoming White House staff members on topics critical to a successful transfer of power. Written by presidential scholars from across the country, the series aims to enhance the staff’s understanding of day-to-day operations in the West and East wings. Nearly every former White House chief of staff, press secretary, director of communications, and senior advisor since the Nixon administration has been interviewed for the project to determine how each office operates — what works, what doesn't and what did they wish they had known before arriving at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.? Other reports cover topics as diverse as the most effective use of the first 100 days and the dynamics of presidential travel. The 2017 series is a partnership between the Moody Foundation, the White House Transition Project and the Baker Institute. It is led by Martha Joynt Kumar, an emeritus professor at Towson University and author of several books on the presidency, and Terry Sullivan, author and member of the political science faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and was supported by a grant from the Moody Foundation.