Research Library

Is the AI boom hiding the real impact of U.S. tariffs? New research by the Center for Tax and Budget Policy’s John W. Diamond shows how AI infrastructure investment is inflating import totals even as traditional manufacturing sectors weaken.

In this episode of “Baker Briefing,” Amb. David M. Satterfield speaks with Baker Institute experts Kelsey Norman and Ana Martín Gil about the realities of protracted displacement across the Middle East and North Africa.

In this episode, Heidi Russell speaks with Christopher Kulesza about how new federal health initiatives and the “Make America Healthy Again” movement could shape child health policy in schools.

In this episode, Tony Payan speaks with former Mexican Sen. Emilio Álvarez Icaza about democratic backsliding under Morena, the emergence of Somos México, and the challenges of building a viable political opposition movement ahead of Mexico’s 2027 midterm elections.

Why do family health insurance premiums vary by as much as $25k within the same industry? A new Baker Institute Health Economics Program report examines insurance cost disparities across Texas universities and explores how plan design and transparency may improve affordability.

In its first year, the second Trump administration has enacted substantial shifts in U.S. health policy, affecting insurance access, care costs, and guidance on nutrition and vaccines. This brief from the Center for Health Policy examines how these changes, particularly federal budget cuts, are expected to reduce insurance coverage and increase costs.

How resilient is the global plastics system to geopolitical disruption? Rachel A. Meidl examines how the Iran war is exposing vulnerabilities in petrochemical supply chains and how circular carbon pathways may strengthen resilience through diversification and flexibility.

In a new piece for The Conversation, Salah Ben Hammou and Hiba Naciri examine how Mali’s military leadership has consolidated authority around General Assimi Goïta following renewed insecurity and the killing of General Sadio Camara, placing Mali within a broader regional trend toward increasingly personalized military rule across the Sahel.

In this episode of “Baker Briefing,” economist John W. Diamond joins host Amb. David M. Satterfield to examine how geopolitical instability is shaping the U.S. economy, including the broader economic fallout of ongoing conflict and the indicators policymakers and consumers should watch in the months ahead.

On April 20, 2026, the Trump administration invoked five Defense Production Act (DPA) orders aimed at expanding U.S. energy infrastructure and supply. In this brief, Gabe Arrington examines how the orders frame energy infrastructure as a national security priority, as well as the uncertainties surrounding their broad scope and implementation.