RAND work in law, business, and regulation includes analyses of alternative dispute resolution, asbestos litigation, workers' compensation, insurance, and other civil justice matters. This research often has implications for the private sector, such as entrepreneurs facing legal and regulatory hurdles, or multinational corporations dealing with corporate ethics and governance issues.
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.
RAND research conducted in the late 1990s documented differences in rates of promotion and retention among male, female, white, and minority officers in the U.S. military. This volume updates the earlier RAND study, using data from January 1988 through September 2010. It also examines the career progression of women serving in military occupations that are partially closed to them.
The area between the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia is a key hub of terrorist and related criminal activity in Southeast Asia. The Coast Watch System was designed to improve maritime domain awareness in the region but has some issues to overcome.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 mandated a review of gender-based assignment restrictions. To support this effort, RAND researchers analyzed service data to describe and quantify the military occupations that are closed to women, as well as occupations that are open with some positions that are closed.
FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program writes the vast majority of flood insurance on residential properties in the United States; current legislation includes a number of reforms that could strengthen the program. RAND has completed studies in four key areas that offer insight into the issues under consideration.
RAND expert Jeffrey Martini speaks on the upcoming Egyptian presidential election and offers insights on the various presidential candidates, Egyptian and global reactions to the candidates, and the possible implications of an undefined constitution for the candidate that will be elected.
In considering foreign application to acquire U.S. companies, the United States needs to consider both risks as well as benefits in both defense and economic dimensions, write Charles Wolf, Jr., Brian Chow, Gregory Jones, and Scott Harold.
An analysis of the outcomes for murder defendants who were represented either by public defenders or by appointed private counsel in Philadelphia raises important questions about the adequacy and fairness of
the criminal justice system.
Ten RAND authors highlight seven ways in which the United States can help to ensure that veterans and their families receive health care, employment and education opportunities, and other benefits.
Testimony presented before the California State Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee on May 9, 2012.
The fraction of American households that have no bank accounts has long been a concern for policymakers. Estimates from a nationally representative sample, RAND's American Life Panel, suggest that in 2011: 15.5 percent of the population is unbanked; socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals are more likely to be unbanked; unbanked respondents cite financial barriers and personal preference as reasons for not having a bank account.
States with low nonfatal injury rates and high fatality rates tend to be in the South, have lower workers' compensation benefits, be less unionized, and pay lower wages—while states with high nonfatal injury rates and lower fatality rates tend to be in the West, pay higher benefits and wages, be more strongly unionized, and carry out more workplace inspections.
Police workforce readiness requires careful and consistent personnel development to ensure that needed skills and knowledge are recognized, appropriately utilized, and fostered. A RAND methodology developed for the U.S. Air Force may be applicable to law enforcement agencies, too.
Historically, police agencies have measured their performance against a restricted set of crime-focused indicators, but modern police officers must be prepared to take on a wide variety of roles. Performance measures should be multidimensional to capture this complexity. This report describes some key considerations in designing measures to evaluate law enforcement agencies and includes a detailed review of some international best…
While I have no doubt of Levin's determination to protect the constitutional rights of American citizens, incremental adjustments and seemingly small compromises, each sensible under the circumstances, can have a cumulative effect that erodes the very liberty we are trying to protect, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.
As the U.S. Supreme Court considers the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) individual mandate, one of the questions being debated is what effect the mandate would have on employer-sponsored health insurance coverage. A factor to consider in this is the effect the ACA would have on small businesses, which employ the majority of America's private-sector workforce.
Conditional cash transfer programs (CCTs) are seen as particularly effective in low- and middle-income countries, but relatively little is known about the interface between the supply of services and program administration and specific human development outcomes. RAND Europe is assessing the effectiveness of CCTs, through a two-year grant from UK Economic Social Research Council and Department for International Development.
On-the-job training is a necessary element of the American presidency, but so should be learning from the accomplishments, as well as the mistakes, of one's predecessor, writes James Dobbins.
The partnership between China and Iran presents challenges to U.S. interests, including dissuading Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability. An analysis of the factors driving Chinese-Iranian cooperation offers policy options for influencing this partnership to meet U.S. objectives.
What effect has the financial crisis had on households and health? RAND researchers seek to quantify the effects of the crisis on older U.S. households, and the adjustments made in response. With this information, they aim to determine whether downturns in economic status are associated with declines in health.