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.
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.
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.
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.
Efforts to improve human development outcomes in Southeast Asia are often hindered by problems with the governance of social assistance programs. The World Bank commissioned RAND Europe to develop a toolkit on how to improve governance in ASEAN countries.
Employment trajectories following the onset of disability are poorly understood. Employer-focused policy interventions may reduce uptake in public disability insurance and disability-induced early retirement.
People with low levels of financial literacy are more easily influenced by the default settings of employee savings plans. The Financial Literacy Center is measuring differences in default effects for employees at companies with auto-enrollment retirement plans, focusing on differential behavior by income.
Alabama's anti-illegal immigration law is regarded as the strictest in the United States and raises several enforcement challenges for police, schools, and other public service providers such as hospitals. RAND research on the costs and benefits of immigration may prove instructive.
Immigrants are less likely than native-born individuals to use banking services or to participate in formal retirement savings programs. The Financial Literacy Center is identifying the main barriers to these services and developing and testing new products to help improve access.
RAND Europe is conducting an independent evaluation of the Department of Health's drug and alcohol recovery payment-by-results pilots to determine whether market forces can encourage the development of better recovery programmes.
Hispanic immigrants constitute a rapidly growing share of the U.S. population but are less likely to be financially literate than natives. RAND researchers are investigating barriers to Hispanic immigrants' use of financial services and evaluates financial education materials for them.
Households annuitize very little of their retirement savings. The Financial Literacy Center is studying the annuitization choices of retiring workers, designing and implementing new communication strategies that will raise acceptance of annuities, and examining the effectiveness of these strategies.
Previous research has shown that changes in income and health insurance are associated with changes in health and/or mortality. An examination of administrative data may show whether receipt of Social Security Disability Insurance and participation in related programs causally affect survival rates among applicants.
Currently, few Americans opt to annuitize their Social Security payments. A better understanding of individuals' preferences for annuitization, obtained via a stated-preference survey, can inform the debate on Social Security reform.
The Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A.FANS) studies adults, teens, children, and neighborhoods in Los Angeles County. Survey data were collected in 2000-2001 and 2006-2008 and are available to researchers for public use.
Understanding the factors influencing economic growth and development is crucial to enhancing the human welfare of a nation. Research and Policy in International Development (RAPID) is a research center committed to fulfilling this objective.
Women continue to lag behind men, not only in income, but in overall financial capability and retirement preparedness. A financial "bootcamp" may hold promise as a financial education program for early to mid-career women.
Research suggests that many individuals claim Social Security retirement benefits at younger ages than may be optimal. The Financial Literacy Center is evaluating alternative ways to convey information about when to claim benefits and offering advice to enhance the Social Security Administration's online claiming website.
People have difficulty understanding how much money they must accumulate in their working years to create a sufficient stream of income once they retire. The Financial Literacy Center is exploring whether disclosing information about the monthly retirement income stream resulting from an individual's retirement account will change savings behavior.
By measuring the quality of care for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in a large workers' compensation provider organization in California and assessing value to workers and employers, RAND laid the groundwork for ongoing quality assessment and improvement programs in workers' compensation settings within California and elsewhere.
Results from the National Financial Capability Survey show the majority of Americans lack basic numeracy and knowledge of fundamental economic principles. The Financial Literacy Center is analyzing the raw survey data to construct an atlas of financial literacy among U.S. states and among some demographic groups.
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