Daniel Egel

Contact Information

Economist

Off Site Office

Education

Ph.D. in economics, University of California, Berkeley; B.A. in biology, University of Chicago

Media Resources

This researcher is available for interviews.

To arrange an interview, contact the RAND Office of Media Relations at (310) 451-6913, or email media@rand.org.

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Overview

Daniel Egel is an economist at the RAND Corporation. His research uses qualitative and quantitative methods to study policymaking in fragile and instability-prone countries, with a focus on development- and stability-focused programming. His work at RAND focuses on policymaking at the nexus of development and stability, and includes analyses of U.S. counterinsurgency and counterterrorism efforts, particularly those implemented by U.S. Special Operations Forces; economic analyses of Brexit, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, post-conflict reconstruction in Syria, and the value of U.S. international security commitments; and support to the peace process in Yemen. Egel served as an embedded analyst with the NATO Special Operations Component Command-Afghanistan (NSOCC-A), a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation, a consultant for the Middle East Youth Initiative at the Brookings Institution, and a in-house consultant with the Yemeni Social Fund for Development. Egel earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Research Focus

Previous Positions

Research Team Lead, United Nations Development Programme, Sub-regional Response Facility for the Syrian Crisis (Jordan); Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation; Consultant, Yemen Social Fund for Development, Sana'a, Yemen; Consultant, Middle East Youth Initiative, The Brookings Institution; Senior Research Assistant, The Brookings Institution

Recent Projects

Stabilization and Civilian Security in Yemen
Research Support to Special Operations Joint Task Force - Afghanistan
Improving U.S. Special Operations to Defeat Nonconventional Threats
The Costs of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Measuring the Effectiveness of Special Operations

Selected Publications

Bryan Graham, Cristine Pinto, and Daniel Egel, "Inverse probability tilting for moment condition models with missing data," Review of Economic Studies, 79(3), 2012

Daniel Egel, "Tribal Heterogeneity and the Allocation of Publicly Provided Goods: Evidence from Yemen," Journal of Development Economics, 101, 2013

Daniel Egel and Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, "Youth Transitions to Employment and Marriage in Iran: Evidence from the School to Work Transition Survey," Middle East Development Journal, 2(1), 2010

Bryan Graham, Cristine Pinto, and Daniel Egel, "Efficient Estimation of Data Combination Models by the Method of Auxiliary- to-Study Tilting (AST)," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, 34(2), 2016

Daniel Egel, Adam R. Grissom, John P. Godges, Jennifer Kavanagh, Howard J. Shatz, Estimating the Value of Overseas Security Commitments, RAND Corporation (RR-518-AF), 2016

Daniel Egel, Charles Ries, Ben Connable, Todd Helmus, Eric Robinson, Isaac Baruffi, Melissa Bradley, Kurt Card, Kathleen Loa, Sean Mann, Stephan Seabrook, Fernando Sedano, and Robert Stewart, Investing in the Fight: Assessing the Use of the Commander's Emergency Response Program in Afghanistan, RAND Corporation (RR-1508), 2016

C. Ross Anthony, Daniel Egel, Charles P. Ries, Craig Bond, Andrew Liepman, Jeffrey Martini, Steven Simon, Shira Efron, Bradley D. Stein, Lynsay Ayer, Mary E. Vaiana, The Costs of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, RAND Corporation (RR-740-DCR), 2015

Honors & Awards

Mentorship Award, RAND Corporation

Commentary

Economic Benefits of U.S. Overseas Security Commitments Appear to Outweigh Costs
U.S. policymakers should carefully weigh the potential losses against the potential gains when considering the desirability of large-scale retrenchments of U.S. overseas security commitments.
Sep 23, 2016 The RAND Blog

Publications

Report
An American Way of Political Warfare: A Proposal
The United States should develop an American political warfare capability to synchronize all elements of national power in contests with and without armed conflict and establish a national political warfare center to mature this capability.
Jul 24, 2018
Report
After Brexit: Alternate forms of Brexit and their implications for the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States
RAND explored eight plausible post-Brexit trade scenarios involving the UK, EU and U.S. after Brexit. Game theory insights were also used to create a better understanding of how a variety of factors might affect the outcome of Brexit negotiations.
Dec 11, 2017
Tool
Potential Economic Effects of Brexit: Implications for the United Kingdom, European Union, and United States
This online calculator lets users explore five plausible post-Brexit trade scenarios involving the UK, EU and U.S. after Brexit and develop a custom scenario by modifying underlying economic assumptions.
Dec 11, 2017
Tool
Calculating the Economic Impacts of the Syrian Conflict: Operationalizing the World Bank's Damage and Needs Assessment
RAND has collaborated with The World Bank to develop an online calculator that allows the user to calculate and forecast the costs of the Syrian war.
Oct 18, 2017
Report
When the Islamic State Comes to Town: The Economic Impact of Islamic State Governance in Iraq and Syria
This report assesses the impact that Islamic State control and governance have on local economies in Iraq and Syria, offering detailed evidence of electricity shortages, refugee flows, and other changes in economic activity inside the caliphate.
Sep 13, 2017
Report
What Factors Cause Individuals to Reject Violent Extremism in Yemen?
Why do some individuals engage in political violence in Yemen, while others do not? Using a unique national survey, we examine the role that social, political, and economic factors play on individual behavior toward violence during Yemen's civil war.
May 22, 2017
Journal Article
Examining the Food-Energy-Water and Conflict Nexus
This article provides an in-depth review of the interactions between insecurity and conflict within the component sectors of the FEW nexus.
2017
Report
Investing in the Fight: Assessing the Use of the Commander's Emergency Response Program in Afghanistan
This report examines the use of the Commander's Emergency Response Program (CERP) in Afghanistan. It explores the effectiveness of CERP in supporting tactical operations in Afghanistan during the counterinsurgency-focused 2010--2013 time frame.
Oct 13, 2016
Report
Estimating the Value of Overseas Security Commitments
In an era of intensifying debate over U.S. funding and resources, RAND researchers explore whether and to what extent the United States derives economic benefits from its overseas security commitments.
Sep 22, 2016
Research Brief
Research Brief
Economic Benefits of U.S. Overseas Security Commitments Could Far Outweigh Costs
Amid intensifying debate over U.S. funding and resources, RAND researchers find that the economic benefits of U.S. overseas security commitments could far exceed the costs.
Sep 22, 2016
Tool
Tool
Estimating the Value of Overseas Security Commitments: An Interactive Visualization
Researchers estimated that U.S. economic losses from major retrenchments of overseas security commitments would be more than triple any gains. This visualization compares different estimated gains and losses from selected retrenchment levels and selected tax, spending, and trade multipliers.
Sep 22, 2016
Draft
Draft
Assessing the Stabilizing Effects of Development Programming: A Review of USAID's Evaluation Efforts in Afghanistan
Reviews the methodology and tools developed by the Measuring Impact of Stabilization Initiative to assess the impact of United States Agency for International Development stabilization-focused programming in Afghanistan.
Aug 12, 2016
Report
The Outlook for Arab Gulf Cooperation
This report examines what binds and divides the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates -- and presents the outlook for the GCC's evolution over the next ten years.
Jul 26, 2016
Report
Task Force for Business and Stability Operations: Lessons from Afghanistan
RAND researchers identify lessons from the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations in Afghanistan, which sought to use private-sector strategies to create a sustainable Afghan economy.
Jan 12, 2016
Report
The Costs of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Executive Summary: (Arabic translation)
An Arabic translation of a study‘s executive summary estimating the net costs and benefits if the long-standing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians follows its current trajectory over the next ten years, relative to five other trajectories.
Nov 23, 2015
Report
Report
The Costs of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Executive Summary: (Hebrew translation)
A Hebrew translation of an executive summary of a study estimating the net costs and benefits if the long-standing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians follows its current trajectory over the next ten years, relative to five other trajectories.
Nov 23, 2015
Report
The Costs of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
This study estimates the net costs and benefits if the long-standing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians follows its current trajectory over the next ten years, relative to five other possible trajectories that the conflict could take.
Sep 8, 2015
Report
The Costs of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Executive Summary
This executive summary shares findings from a study that estimates the net costs and benefits if the long-standing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians follows its current trajectory over the next ten years, relative to five other trajectories.
Jun 18, 2015
Tool
Costs of the Conflict Calculator
The RAND Costs of Conflict study estimates the net costs and benefits of five alternative trajectories -- a two-state solution, coordinated unilateral withdrawal, uncoordinated unilateral withdrawal, nonviolent resistance, and violent uprising.
Jun 8, 2015
Report
Report
Venture Capital and Strategic Investment for Developing Government Mission Capabilities
Through case studies and economic modeling, this research on government strategic investment will help acquisition managers evaluate strategic investment methods to motivate mission-oriented innovation by private firms.
Mar 24, 2014

Multimedia

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RAND Experts Discuss the Costs of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Study
Jun 18, 2015