Research Library

The creation of a new industry of brain capital technologies could stimulate major economic activity, create jobs, and contribute to technological advances for the U.S. and its allies, write Harris Eyre, Rachel Meidl and co-authors.

“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.

Electronic waste is surging globally, presenting growing threats to the environment and human health. Rachel A. Meidl explains how coordinated action can help us move to a sustainable, circular economy of electronics.

In the next year, the EPA could make a final decision on whether to classify PVC as hazardous waste. What would this entail? Fellow Rachel Meidl explores why a hazardous designation for PVC would have costly implications — moving the U.S. further from its goal of achieving a sustainable, circular economy.

Decentralized finance is charting a path toward increased transparency and efficiency in the financial services sector. But do the benefits outweigh the risks?

Why does Texas have its own power grid, and how can its history inform the future of electric power in the state? Nonresident scholar Julie Cohn looks beyond the mythology surrounding the standalone Texas grid and finds that reliability and economics — not politics — were the major factors leading to isolation.

With opposition to large-scale energy infrastructure on the rise, transmission service providers find it problematic to build the new power lines essential to a greener grid. This paper highlights the Texas Competitive Renewable Energy Zone initiative (CREZ) — a case study of the difficulties that new power lines face and the policy choices that can facilitate development of this necessary infrastructure. The CREZ experience can inform development of new large-scale transmission infrastructure in other regions.

Author Julie Cohn traces historical trends and experiences with the U.S. electrical grid to help frame choices as more renewables are brought into the system.

The energy reform in Mexico has implemented far-reaching changes in the political, economic, and legal spheres of the country. Any process whereby an industry is opened to private investment investment gives rise to the possibility of disputes that need to be settled within an environment of legal certainty. International arbitration in general, and investment arbitration in particular, are tools that serve both the investor and the state to properly resolve disputes that arise in the energy sector. However, the author argues that a balance must be sought between the legitimate interests and expectations of an investor and the public policy interests of the state, particularly whenever a sector as significant as energy is concerned.