Louay Constant is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. He has worked on a range of social policy issues including K–12 education reform, postsecondary education and training, labor markets, workforce development, and organizational restructuring and design. His main research focus area has been on young people's school-to-work transition, the experiences of soon-to-be graduates or recent graduates in seeking education and employment, and the challenges young people, including marginalized groups, face in making that transition. His main interest is in research on mechanisms to address human capital deficits and improve the alignment between labor market supply and demand. He has conducted policy research globally and has led or participated in research projects in the United States, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and Mongolia developing strategies to increase access and improve quality of general and vocational education, examining factors affecting the alignment of labor market supply and demand, and assessing the experiences of youth in education and employment. He employs mixed methods in his analysis, and has conducted household, school-based, and employer surveys, analyzed administrative data, and carried out interviews and focus groups for qualitative research. Constant earned his Ph.D. in public policy and administration from the University of Kentucky.
Selected Publications
Constant, Louay, Shelly Culbertson, Jonathan S. Blake, Mary Kate Adgie, and Hardika Dayalani, In Search of a Durable Solution: Examining the Factors Influencing Postconflict Refugee Returns, RAND Corporation (RR-A1327-1), 2021
Constant, Louay, Jennie W. Wenger, Linda Cottrell, Wing Yi Chan, and Kathryn A. Edwards, National Guard Youth ChalleNGe: Program Progress in 2017–2018, RAND Corporation (RR-2907-OSD), 2019
Kumar, Krishna B., Shelly Culbertson, Louay Constant, Shanthi Nataraj, Fatih Unlu, Kathryn E. Bouskill, Joy S. Moini, Katherine Costello, Gursel Rafig oglu Aliyev, and Fadia Afashe, Opportunities for All: Mutually Beneficial Opportunities for Syrians and Host Countries in Middle Eastern Labor Markets, RAND Corporation (RR-2653-QFFD), 2018
Shatz, Howard J., Louay Constant, Francisco Perez-Arce, Eric Robinson, Robin L. Beckman, Haijing Crystal Huang, Peter Glick, and Bonnie Ghosh-Dastidar, Improving the Mongolian Labor Market and Enhancing Opportunities for Youth, RAND Corporation (RR-1092-ILS), 2015
Constant, Louay, Shelly Culbertson, Cathy Stasz, and Georges Vernez, Improving Technical Vocational Education and Training in the Kurdistan Region — Iraq, RAND Corporation (RR-277-KRG), 2014
Hansen, Michael L., Howard J. Shatz, Louay Constant, Alexandria Smith, Krishna B. Kumar, Heather Krull, and Artur Usanov, Strategies for Private-Sector Development and Civil-Service Reform in the Kurdistan Region — Iraq, RAND Corporation (MG-1117-1-KRG), 2014
Brown, Ryan Andrew, Louay Constant, Peter Glick, and Audra K. Grant, Youth in Jordan: Transitions from Education to Employment, RAND Corporation (RR-556-CMEPP), 2014
Constant, Louay, Robert Bozick, Nicholas Broten, and Joy S. Moini, Examining Career and Technical Education in National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Programs, RAND Corporation (RR-A271-4), 2021