Research Library

The death of George Floyd has accelerated calls for police reform. Although decriminalizing drugs and the people who use them will not end police violence, it is part of the structural change needed to fix the problem, writes fellow Katharine Neill Harris.

In this series of papers, the authors argue that Texas has a comparative advantage when it comes to implementing CCUS technologies, given the volume of CO2 emissions from industrial activity, the amount of oil and gas production, the scale of geologic storage potential, and the breadth of engineering and subsurface expertise in the state. Lawmakers and regulators can help facilitate the development of a robust CCUS industry in the state by addressing existing legal and regulatory uncertainties and by carefully considering pathways that can establish Texas as a leader in a low carbon energy future.

Public finance fellow Joyce Beebe reviews the major contentions and developments of the controversial Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), intended to help small businesses during the current economic downturn. Baker Institute Blog: https://bit.ly/2XFxgAq

Political partisanship is strongly influencing the United States’ response to Covid-19, potentially leading to a suboptimal balance between reopening the economy and protecting public health. Read more at the Baker Institute Blog.

Energy fellow Michelle Michot Foss interviews Bernard Duroc-Danner, the former CEO of EVI, Grant Prideco & Weatherford, to explore the strategic shifts for businesses in the oilfield services (OFS) industry and to address how the OFS industry must restructure itself.

The oil glut and the unprecedented drop in demand, along with plummeting oil prices due to the coronavirus pandemic, is revealing the strengths and weaknesses of oil firms globally. The authors consider four NOCs — Ecopetrol, Petrobras, Petronas and Pemex — in the context of the current crisis.

The authors argue for an identification and tax program that would allow unauthorized residents to receive identification documents and reside and work legally in the United States. In return, they would pay taxes much like any other American.

The authors found that six months of pre–end-stage kidney disease nephrology care did not significantly improve the likelihood that patients would remain employed when they started dialysis. This finding underscores the need to identify effective methods to help patients stay employed when they transition to dialysis.

Iron and steel production are necessary for modern infrastructure, and the sector is both energy intensive and difficult to decarbonize. The authors explore new, evolving processes that could change this and potentially provide both environmental and economic benefits.

Congratulations to the winners of the Baker Institute Student Forum annual policy competition! Click here to learn more about the 2020 event and its winners.