Policy Matters

The United States confronts a “perfect storm.” The Covid-19 pandemic has killed 110,000 Americans, a ghastly tally rising every day. The unemployment rate is reaching heights not seen since the Great Depression. And the appalling killing of George Floyd has triggered massive national protests against policing policies in specific and racism in general. Many have compared the current moment to 1968, another year of mass protests and national instability. How is 2020 like 1968? How is it different? And what lessons can we draw from a comparison? This episode’s guest is Dr. Allen Matusow. He is the Baker Institute’s academic affairs director. He joined the Rice faculty in 1963 and is a distinguished historian and an expert on post-World War II America.

The Covid-19 pandemic has reignited the debate about our national dependence on Chinese raw materials and manufactured goods.   Why should we be concerned about such dependence?   What are our key areas of vulnerability?   What policies should we introduce to address these vulnerabilities?   And how is China likely to respond to these policies? This episode’s guests are Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew Erickson.   Collins is the Baker Botts Fellow in Energy & Environmental Regulatory Affairs at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.   Erickson is Professor of Strategy at the Naval War College’s China Maritime Studies Institute.     They have recently co-authored a Baker Institute report entitled “Economic Statecraft: Options for Reducing U.S. Overdependence on Chinese-supplied Materials and Medications.” It is available on the institute website.  

Over the past decade, U.S. federal debt as a share of the economy has grown to levels not reached since the aftermath of World War II. Recent tax cuts and ongoing fiscal stimulus related to the Covid-19 pandemic have placed U.S. debt on an unstable and unprecedented path moving forward. Gauging the long-term sustainability of federal debt hinges on projections of one key underlying variable: the interest rate.  How are debt projections and the interest rate tied to broad demographic transformations underway in the U.S. and across the world today? And how worried should we be by rising federal debt?   This special podcast is drawn from a webinar hosted by the Baker Institute Roundtable on April 28. It features Dr. Jorge Barro, a fellow in public finance at the Baker Institute. His area of research involves the development of dynamic macroeconomic models for fiscal policy evaluation. Barro is joined by Ms. Morgan Garvey, stewardship officer at the institute.

As uncertainty about the extent and severity of the coronavirus pandemic continues, questions are circling about the November elections. How will the pandemic affect the electoral process, and what are the options for campaigning and voting if the virus remains a threat to the health and well-being of Americans?  What is the current state of play in major Texas and national races? How will Covid-19 shape the fall campaign? This podcast is drawn from a webinar hosted by the Baker Institute on March 22 entitled “The 2020 Election and Covid-19.”   It features Dr. Mark Jones, Baker Institute Fellow in Political Science and Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies.   He is joined by Ms. Chetna Cates, the Baker institute’s Director of Membership.

While refugees are not inherently more susceptible to the Covid-19 virus, the conditions in which many refugees and internally displaced persons live and their difficulty in accessing basic health services leave them highly vulnerable. What is the current global refugee situation?   What has been the impact of the pandemic on refugees and other displaced persons and on the countries that host them? How has the pandemic altered government policies around the world, including safe third country agreements and other measures to limit refugee flows? This special podcast is drawn from a webinar hosted by the Baker Institute Roundtable on April 16. It features Dr. Kelsey Norman, the Kelly Day Fellow in Women’s Rights, Human Rights and Refugees in the Baker Institute’s Center for the Middle East.   Norman is joined by Ms. Chetna Cates, Director of Membership at the Baker Institute.

As states enact sweeping measures to mitigate the spread of the Covid-19 virus, the burden of such efforts may deepen existing social and economic inequities, particularly among vulnerable women and children. What will be the impact of recent coronavirus legislation, including the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, on low-income working women? What are the long-term effects of parental stress on young children, particularly in terms of increases in child abuse and maltreatment amid ongoing stay-at-home orders? This special podcast is drawn from a webinar hosted by the Baker Institute on April 9. It features Dr. Quianta Moore, who is the Baker Institute Fellow in Child Health Policy. Moore is joined by Ms. Zeinab Bakhiet, research associate in Child Health Policy at the Institute.

Global energy markets are in a melt-down.   The Coronavirus pandemic has sent oil demand into a downward spiral. And a nasty price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia is only intensifying the crisis. What has led to this unprecedented situation? What are its potential short- and long-term impacts?   And what can major players – including the United States – do to address the current turmoil in energy markets? This special podcast is drawn from a webinar hosted by the Baker Institute on April 3 entitled “Pandemic, Price War and the World Petroleum Market.”   It features Institute Fellows Dr. Kenneth B. Medlock III , Dr. Jim Krane, and Mr. Mark Finley. Medlock is the James A. Baker, III, and Susan G. Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics and Senior Director of the Institute’s Center for Energy Studies.   Krane is the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies. Finley is the Fellow in Energy and Global Oil.

Coronavirus – specifically COVID-19 – has reached global pandemic proportions. Starting in China, it has spread throughout many parts of the world, exacting a huge human and financial price. The United States is now facing a health and economic crisis without close parallel in our history. What is Covid19?   How dangerous is it?   How is it spreading in the United States? And what is the best way to address the threat it poses? This special podcast is drawn from a Webinar hosted by the Baker Institute on March 26.   It features Dr. Peter J. Hotez. He is the Baker Institute fellow in disease and poverty. Hotez is also dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, where he is also chief of the Section of Pediatric Tropical Medicine and the Texas Children’s Hospital Endowed Chair of Tropical Pediatrics. Dr. Hotez is joined by Dr. Kirstin R.W. Matthews, Fellow in Science and Technology Policy at the Baker Institute.  

There is more to good health than medical care, important as it is. What are some of the social determinants that affect the health and wellbeing of ourselves and those around us? What can we as a society do to help low-income and vulnerable populations? And, what special challenges do those populations face because of the unfolding novel coronavirus pandemic? This week’s guest is Elena M. Marks. She is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Episcopal Health Foundation, a $1.3 billion dollar Houston-based non-profit dedicated to improving community health. Ms. Marks is also a nonresident Fellow in Health Policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, where her work focuses on health reform and access to care for low-income and uninsured populations.

Latin America is one of the world’s largest hydrocarbon producers.   Yet the countries of the region present a mixed picture in terms of performance in the oil sector.   Moreover, they confront a rapidly changing political, technological and market environment.   Which countries are seizing the opportunities offered by increasing oil production?   Which are lagging?   And why? This episode’s guest is Dr. Francisco Monaldi. He is the Fellow in Latin American Energy Policy at the Baker Institute’s Center for Energy studies. Note: This episode was recorded before the collapse of global oil prices in early March.