Baker Institute Report

Number 32 Spring/Summer 2008 BAKER IN S TITUTE REPORT NOTE S F RO M THE JA M E S A. BAKER III IN S TITUTE F OR PU B LIC POLICY O F RICE UNIVER S ITY SEN . JOHN MCCAIN ADDRE ss E S CA M PAIGN Iss UE S AT TOWN HALL FORU M Less than a week before the speak. Invitations were also extend- Texas primary, Republican presiden- ed to Democrats Hillary Clinton tial candidate Sen. John McCain, of New York and Barack Obama R-Ariz., stated at the Baker Institute of Illinois, and Republicans Mike that he has the experience and Huckabee of Arkansas and Ron knowledge to lead the country. Paul of Texas. McCain was the first The Feb. 28 town hall meet- to accept. ing was open to Rice University Introduced as a “consensus students, faculty, staff and guests builder” by former U.S. Secretary of invited by the university, along with State and Baker Institute Honorary the news media. McCain’s visit was Chair James A. Baker, III, McCain prompted by an invitation from spoke about energy, taxes, Iraq and Rice and the Baker Institute to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. continued on page 27 SEN . JOHN KERRY URGE S ACTION IN THI S REPORT ON CLI M ATE CHANGE POLICY Director's Letter 2 In his keynote address at Campaign 2008: the Baker Institute conference The Issues Considered 3 “Beyond Science: The Economics Energy Forum 7 Science & Technology 10 and Politics of Responding to Rush Conference Center 13 Climate Change,” Sen. John Kerry, Kelly Day Endowment 14 D-Mass., challenged U.S. policy- Associate Roundtable 15 makers to take immediate steps Latin American Initiative 16 to deal with the threat of climate Space Policy 18 change. A long-standing advocate Diplomacy 20 for the environment, Kerry, along Technology, Society & with former Vice President Al Public Policy 24 Gore, held the first Senate hear- Homeland Security ings on global warming in 1987. In & Terrorism 25 December 2007, Kerry represented Student Forum 26 the Senate at the United Nations In the News 32 conference on climate change in New Publications 34 Fellows and Scholars 35 continued on page 28 Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. 1 LETTER F RO M THE DIRECTOR This fall will mark the Baker Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar; lenges of post-conflict Iraq. In Institute’s 15th anniversary. Prince Saud al-Faisal of Saudi 2006, we were one of the institu- At the time the institute was Arabia; President Shimon Peres tions that facilitated the work of launched in 1993, it was tempo- of Israel; and Chancellor Helmut the bipartisan Iraq Study Group rarily located on the ground floor Kohl of Germany. that assessed the situation on the of Fondren Library on the Rice Most importantly, we have ground in Iraq and recommend- University campus. In 1997, we developed ongoing research pro- ed a way forward that could pro- inaugurated James A. Baker III grams in critical areas of domestic mote U.S. and regional interests. Hall, the institute’s home. Then, and foreign policy. The final test We have deepened our rela- we had plenty of space. Today, of any public policy institute is tionship with the Rice commu- Baker Hall is filled to capacity its intellectual product. We are nity over the years. University with institute fellows and the proud of our record in bring- faculty play a central role in our administrative staff to support ing institute fellows, Rice faculty, research. The Baker Institute them. and outside scholars and experts Student Forum helps us reach out Far more important than together to examine topics as to undergraduates and graduates the space in which we work, of varied as energy, tax and expen- alike. And from Rice president course, is the substance of what diture policy, conflict resolution David Leebron on down, we have we do here. The last 15 years have in the Middle East, health care, a close working relationship with seen the steady development of science and technology, China’s the university’s administration. outreach and research programs emerging middle class, and the Looking forward, we hope that compare favorably with the U.S.–Mexican border and Latin to build on our past achieve- very best public policy institutions America. Our work in these areas ments. This means, first and in the country. Indeed, this year has gained a reputation among foremost, sustaining the flow of the Baker Institute was rated as policymakers in Washington and first-rate analysis from our exist- one of the nation’s 30 most influ- elsewhere for in-depth and unbi- ing research programs. It also ential think tanks. ased, nonpartisan analysis. means identifying new areas of When the institute began, The heart of our research research where we can bring our we worried about our ability program remains the institute expertise to bear. We intend to to attract world leaders to our fellows, who bring extraordinary broaden our international out- forum. Today, we boast one of the experience and insight to their reach through enhanced recruit- most impressive speakers’ pro- fields of interest. We are drawing ment of international fellows grams in the country. Prominent on the expertise of our fellows and exchange programs. And we leaders have come to the institute in our current “Campaign 2008” also plan to expand our thriving to share their policy experience, series featuring discussions on internship program in order to including U.S. Presidents Gerald some of the most important issues provide Rice students with more R. Ford, Jr., Jimmy Carter, George confronting the American elec- extensive exposure to the field of H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton; torate as we prepare to choose a public policy. President Nelson Mandela of new president in November. In sum, the past 15 years have South Africa; Presidents Mikhail We also forge partnerships been truly an act of creation. We Gorbachev and Vladimir Putin with other institutions. In 2002, now face the challenge of sustain- of Russia; King Abdullah II of we worked with the Council on ing and building the research Jordan; President Hosni Mubarak Foreign Relations on a much- programs in a dynamic manner of Egypt; Sheikh Hamad bin cited study detailing the chal- continued on page 27 2 CA M PAIGN 2008: THE Iss UE S CON S IDERED EXPERT S WEIGH IN ON U.S. HEALTH CARE POLICY In the first event of the Baker However, Davis said, citing the For example, Skinner compared Institute's series “Campaign 2008: study, if a serious reform effort medical expenditures in two Texas The Issues Considered,” held Feb. begins today and tackles the organi- border cities, El Paso and McAllen. 26, two experts analyzed the current zation of care, the way it’s paid for, While they had similar health care state of U.S. health care and offered and includes investment in health- costs in the early 1990s, McAllen policy recommendations to the next promotion activities, transparent now spends significantly more. U.S. president. information and information tech- To cut medical costs, Skinner The main presidential candi- nology, “we can achieve savings over suggested, “Let's look at the places dates share many beliefs about time sufficient to offset much of the where we're able to achieve low-cost health care, said Karen Davis, presi- cost of expanding coverage.” growth and see if we can emulate dent of The Commonwealth Fund, Jonathan Skinner, the John those regions in other parts of the a private, charitable foundation Sloan Dickey Third Century country.” based in New York. “Where they Professor of Economics at While cutting health care costs divide has to do with the issue of Dartmouth College, focused on won't be easy — “To us it's a cost; whether everybody should have cov- health care costs and ways to limit to somebody else, it's income” — erage, who should pay for it … and their rapid growth. He sought to Skinner suggested two guiding prin- the role of private insurance and answer why health care costs are ciples. First, he urged that incen- the role of private markets.” escalating and to examine the value tives should reward value for each Davis discussed the find- of the expenditures. dollar spent, emphasizing “value” ings of a recent study by the Skinner pointed to a 2004 study in an economist's sense. Second, fund's Commission on a High- that found no correlation between Skinner called for measuring qual- Performance Health System, which spending and the quality of health ity more deeply. His model, he said, set four goals: high-quality safe care, care. Doctors in different regions, might be a “Southwest Airlines of access to care for all, efficient high- he said, differ widely on treatments. health care.” value care, and system capacity to innovate and improve. There are three basic approach- es to extend health care to all Americans, Davis said. The first involves tax incentives for people to purchase health insurance in the individual insurance markets. The second expands our current system of mixed private-public group insurance with shared responsibilities for financing across federal/state government, employers and house- holds. The third, and most radical, is to institute public insurance. “If we do nothing,” Davis said, “we will go from spending 16 percent of the gross domestic product Karen Davis, president of The Commonwealth Fund (center), and Jonathan Skinner, the John Sloan on health care to 20 percent in 10 Dickey Third Century Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College (right), discuss the future of health years.” care, with James A.

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