News Archive

RAND Behavioral Finance Forum: The Promise and Challenge of Evidence-Based Policy and Practice — Jun 1, 2012

The BeFi Public Policy Roundtable brings together the brightest minds in behavioral finance to discuss research that combines behavioral science and cognitive psychology with economics and finance.

Targeting of SSDI Program Could Be Improved by Reducing the Variation in Initial Determinations — Mar 20, 2012

Though consistency in applying disability assessment criteria is intended, it is not easily achieved in practice. For many SSDI applicants, whether they are allowed or denied benefits depends upon the examiner to which their application is assigned.

James P. Smith Awarded Cozzarelli Prize by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences — Mar 1, 2012

The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences selected a paper by James P. Smith, Distinguished Chair in Labor Markets and Demographic Studies at the RAND Corporation, as one of six published by PNAS in 2011 to receive the Cozzarelli Prize.

Improving the Professional Development System for California's Early Child Education Workforce — Feb 28, 2012

California has taken steps to implement components of a comprehensive professional development system for its early child education workforce. However, further advances are needed and more information is required to identify possible inefficiencies in the current system.

RAND Launches Development Portfolio Management Group to Assess Emerging Market Development Projects — Feb 20, 2012

The Development Portfolio Management Group, a group providing independent review and counsel to international aid projects in developing countries, has joined the RAND Corporation. Joining nonprofit RAND will allow the group to assist a wider array of projects, including those funded by governments of developing countries, bi-lateral donors, regional development banks, and foundations.

RAND Summer Institute Conferences Address Critical Issues for Our Aging Population — Jan 23, 2012

RAND Summer Institute is an annual event sponsored by the RAND Labor and Population Center for the Study of Aging; RSI's two conferences on aging are sponsored by the National Institute on Aging and the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research and will convene in Santa Monica in July.

Conference Addresses Relationship Between Health, Aging, and Human Capital — Dec 5, 2011

The RAND Bing Center for Health Economics, RAND Labor and Population, and the Journal of Human Capital held a two-day Conference on Health, Aging, and Human Capital. Speakers included RAND's Nicole Maestas, NYU's Michael Grossman, and Harvard's David Wise; all conference videos are available online.

RAND Conference Focuses on Socioeconomic Growth and Development in Latin America — Nov 16, 2011

Labor issues, healthcare, education, social programs, and other factors affecting economic development in Latin America were the focus of a two-day conference in Santiago, Chile. RAND researchers joined university colleagues, industry experts, government leaders, and policymakers in discussing a range of critical topics.

James P. Smith Elected to the Institute of Medicine — Oct 25, 2011

James P. Smith, who holds the Distinguished Chair in Labor Markets and Demographic Studies at RAND, has been elected for membership in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies. Election to the IOM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

Living Longer in Mexico: Income Security and Health — Oct 18, 2011

Mexican citizens are living longer and overall have experienced an improvement in the quality of life compared to that of prior generations. However, the demographic transition in Mexico, combined with the lack of formal sources of income in retirement, places many older persons in a state of financial insecurity.

Do Disability Benefits Discourage Work? — Sep 20, 2011

Does the receipt of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) have a disincentive effect on the willingness of recipients to work? RAND research found that those who are relatively less impaired are much more likely to return to work if denied benefits, whereas beneficiaries with severe impairments would be no more likely to work had they not received SSDI.

Workshop Highlighted New Ideas to Help Consumers Make Better Financial Decisions — Sep 8, 2011

These videos offer presentations from "Emerging Research on Financial Literacy: A Workshop," held by the Financial Literacy Center, a joint center of the RAND Corporation, Dartmouth College, and the Wharton School. The workshop brought together FLC scholars with policymakers and practitioners in the financial literacy field.

Low Fertility in Europe — Is There Still Reason to Worry? — Jun 17, 2011

The post-war trend of falling birth rates has been reversed across Europe. However, despite an increasing emphasis on family and fertility policies in Europe, this recent development involves social, cultural, and economic factors more than individual policy interventions.

RAND Behavioral Finance Forum: Consumer Financial Protection — May 10, 2011

The purpose of this annual meeting is to discuss trends and new policy options in consumer finance with academics, industry experts, members of congress, their staff, and other policy makers.

Financial Literacy Conference Addresses Retirement Planning, Better Decisionmaking — Feb 21, 2011

At the first annual conference of the Financial Literacy Research Consortium, scholars discussed how programs, educational products, and policies can best promote financial planning and security. Videos from the presentations are available on rand.org.

Older Americans Less Healthy Than English Counterparts, But They Live as Long or Longer — Nov 4, 2010

While Americans aged 55 to 64 have higher rates of chronic diseases than their peers in England, they die at about the same rate. And Americans age 65 and older—while still sicker than their English peers—have a lower death rate than similar people in England.

Larger Waist Size Linked to Higher Diabetes Rates Among Americans — Oct 7, 2010

A higher rate of diabetes seen among adult Americans when compared to peers in England is explained primarily by a larger waist size rather than conventional risk factors such as obesity.

Small Business Assistance Programs in the U.S.: What Are They, and How Well Do They Work? — Sep 30, 2010

The vital importance of small business in the American economy has prompted the development of federal, state, and private programs to facilitate its creation and expansion. Yet our understanding of these programs' effects and effectiveness, as well as of who benefits from them, is limited.

Encouraging Work at Older Ages — Jul 15, 2010

As men and women extend their working lives, they enhance their own retirement income security and may ease the strain of an aging population on economic growth as well as shore up the finances of Social Security and Medicare, according to testimony presented by Nicole Maestas before the Senate Finance Committee.

RAND Behavioral Finance Forum 2010 — May 25, 2010

The RAND Behavioral Finance Forum held on May 25, 2010, focused on new policy options in consumer finance with staff and members of Congress and other policymakers, and with representatives of academe and the financial industry.

Psychological Problems During Childhood Create Long-Term Economic Losses — May 12, 2010

A first-of-its-kind study examining the long-term economic consequences of childhood psychological disorders finds the conditions diminish people's ability to work and earn as adults, costing $2.1 trillion over the lifetimes of all affected Americans.

U.S.-U.K. Conference on Behavioral Finance and Public Policy: RAND Behavioral Finance Forum — Jul 31, 2009

The RAND Behavioral Finance Forum, an organization dedicated to helping consumers make better financial decisions, held a conference on May 1, 2009, to discuss new policy options in consumer finance with staff and members of Congress and other policymakers, and with representatives of academe and the financial industry.

Questionable Estimates of Eligibility for Low-Income Subsidies Under Medicare Part D — Jul 23, 2009

In 2003, Congress added a prescription drug benefit to the Medicare program known as Part D and a Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) for some Part D beneficiaries. About 29 percent were eligible for the LIS in 2006 but there is considerable uncertainty around this estimate.

U.S. Households Are Coping with the Economic Downturn by Helping Each Other Financially — Jun 5, 2009

One way that U.S. households are coping with the global economic downturn is by reaching out to each other via financial help, according to recent survey results, which also reveal that many more households are giving financial help than receiving it and that help most frequently flows from parents to children.

California Preschool Study Finds Ways To Improve the State's Childhood Education System Despite Scarce Resources — May 28, 2009

In an era of fiscal crisis, California can still improve access and quality in its early childhood education system through low-cost improvements, such as adopting efficiencies and better use of existing resources. Such measures will also allow the system to lay the foundation for greater improvements in the future when more resources are available.

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