Research Library

NAFTA has neither been the enormous success that its supporters believe, nor the disaster that its detractors claim. Renegotiating NAFTA — or even threatening to repeal it — is not a high-stakes proposition. The treaty simply does not possess the leverage to deliver a major boost or setback to the U.S. manufacturing sector. 

The extent of fuel theft from pipelines in Mexico is now so great that it is becoming a serious financial burden for state-owned petroleum company Pemex and, more broadly, may pose a challenge to the implementation of policies designed to liberalize Mexico's gasoline market, writes postdoctoral fellow Adrian Duhalt.

The author examines the performance and impact of Mexico’s Programa Frontera Sur, an effort designed to deter unauthorized migration of Central Americans through Mexico’s southern border.

Social media is becoming more and more a part of the daily political process. From a political science perspective, the ability to capture the ideology of elites and citizens using a common platform greatly helps in answering a very important question: which party’s ideological position is closest to that of its supporters, on a left-right ideology scale? Research scholar Abdullah Aydogan analyzes the tweets of four major Turkish political parties to answer this question in a post for the Baker Institute Blog.

Most analysis of NAFTA begins by citing the huge increase in bilateral trade between the U.S., Canada and Mexico since 1993. U.S.-Mexico trade—exports plus imports—has grown three and a half times faster than U.S. GDP since NAFTA began in 1994. If NAFTA were solely responsible for that trade, renegotiating it on more favorable terms might have big payoffs. However, there are seven problems with thinking NAFTA has mattered or can matter very much.

The authors calculate nodal prices for Mexico's power system and analyze how the allocation of financial transmission rights can be used to mitigate resulting effects on electricity distribution. The Energy Journal: http://bit.ly/2UKrw9R

Larger trucks and SUVs with powerful, high-displacement engines are the low-hanging fruit for any policymaker seeking the most efficient path to reducing gasoline use and the associated emissions.

To access the full paper, download the PDF on the left-hand sidebar. 
 

“If I were to pick a single indicator—economic…

Mexico should consider expanding its 2014 energy reform legislation by further designing policies that seek to promote enhanced generation output and capacity, which could expand economic growth, the authors write in this study: http://bit.ly/2DpaDai

The U.S. faces a projected shortage of primary care physicians. The authors of the June HPR newsletter discuss their studies showing that a care delivery model that expands the roles of nurse practitioners and physician assistants could help close the gap without affecting routine chronic disease care.