Susan M. Gates

Contact Information

Director, Office of Research Quality Assurance; Senior Economist; Professor, Pardee RAND Graduate School

Santa Monica Office

Education

Ph.D. in economic analysis and policy, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford University; M.A. in Russian and Eastern European studies, Stanford University; A.B. in mathematical economics, Brown University

One Page Bio

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

Susan M. Gates is a senior economist, director of the Office of Research Quality Assurance at the RAND Corporation and a professor of economics at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Her research applies insights from the economics of organizations, industrial organization, and labor economics to several policy areas including entrepreneurship and innovation, school leadership, and workforce management.

Gates is an experienced project leader and manager. She is currently involved in evaluations of the New Leaders program for school principals, an initiative to improve the principal pipeline in six major districts and an effort to improve university-based principal preparation. Susan also conducts analyses on the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition workforce. Prior research addressed entrepreneurship, health care innovation, the military child care system and defense workforce and management issues. Her published research appears in numerous RAND reports as well as in external publications such as the Economics of Education Review, Journal of Health Economics, Journal of Risk and Insurance, Public Administration Review, Managerial and Decision Economics, ERS Spectrum, and Armed Forces and Society.

Gates received her M.A. in Russian and Eastern European studies from Stanford University and her Ph.D. in economics from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Research Focus

Pardee RAND Graduate School Courses

Entrepreneurship

Previous Positions

Consultant, Center for International Security and Arms Control on Industrial Restructuring and the Political Economy in Russia, Stanford University

Recent Projects

Evaluation of New Leaders
Evaluation of the Principal Pipeline Initiative
Resource study of the Principal Pipeline Initiative
ESSA School Leadership Evidence Review
Defense Acquisition Workforce Analysis

Selected Publications

Herman, Rebecca Epstein, Susan M. Gates, Aziza Arifkhanova, Andriy Bega, Emilio Chavez-Herrerias, Eugeniu Han, Mark Harris, Jennifer Tamargo and Stephani Wrabel, School Leadership Interventions Under the Every Student Succeeds Act: Evidence Review - Updated and Expanded, RAND (RR-1550-2), 2016

Nataraj, Shanthi, Christopher Guo, Philip Hall-Partyka, Susan M. Gates and Douglas Yeung, Options for Department of Defense Total Workforce Supply and Demand Analysis: Potential Approaches and Available Data Sources, RAND Corporation (RR-543), 2014

Gates, Susan M., Laura S. Hamilton, Paco Martorell, Susan Burkhauser, Paul Heaton, Ashley Pierson, Matthew Baird, Mirka Vuollo, Jennifer J. Li, Diana Lavery, Melody Harvey and Kun Gu, Preparing Principals to Raise Student Achievement: Implementation and Effects of the New Leaders Program in Ten Districts, RAND (RR-507), 2014

Gates, Susan M., Beth Roth, Sinduja Srinivasan and Lindsay Daugherty, Analyses of the Department of Defense Acquisition Workforce: Update to Methods and Results through FY 2011, RAND Corporation (RR-110), 2013

Fairlie, Robert W., Kanika Kapur and Susan M. Gates, "Is employer-based health insurance a Barrier to Entrepreneurship?" Journal of Health Economics, 30(1):146-162, 2011

Susan M. Gates and Kristin J. Leuschner, Eds., In the Name of Entrepreneurship? : The Logic and Effects of Special Regulatory Treatment for Small Business, RAND (MG-663), 2008

Dominic J. Brewer, Susan M. Gates and Charles Goldman, In Pursuit of Prestige: Strategy and Competition in U.S. Higher Education, Transaction Press, 2006

Susan M. Gates et al., "Mobility and Turnover Among School Principals," Economics of Education Review, 25(3), 2006

Commentary

How States and Districts Can Leverage the Every Student Succeeds Act to Improve School Leadership
The Every Student Succeeds Act provides states and districts with new chances to invest in school leadership. A review of interventions can serve as a starting point to enact relevant solutions and build the evidence base for what works.
Dec 12, 2016 The RAND Blog
Improving School Leadership: What Works
There is evidence that having strong school leaders is instrumental for improving the quality of teaching. But resource constraints and pressure to spend money directly on students have left interventions focused on principals largely overlooked. However, the new Every Student Succeeds Act may be changing the script.
Apr 28, 2016 The RAND Blog
A Principal Role in Education
Principals are second only to teachers as the most important school factor affecting student achievement, but their contributions are often underappreciated. They establish a vision that motivates the entire community, build a school culture that supports student learning, ensure resources are used effectively, and engage with the community.
Nov 26, 2014 The RAND Blog
What Drives the Market for Orphan Drugs?
The 1983 Orphan Drug Act appears to be successful in promoting development of new treatments for relatively rare conditions. But an unintended consequence of its success is the high cost of specialty drugs.
May 14, 2014 The RAND Blog

Publications

Report
What It Takes to Operate and Maintain Principal Pipelines: Costs and Other Resources
This report presents an approach for understanding the district resources and expenditures required to prepare, hire, evaluate, develop, and support school leaders and provides estimates of those resources and expenditures.
Jun 20, 2017
Report
School Leadership Interventions Under the Every Student Succeeds Act: Evidence Review: Updated and Expanded
This updated report presents a synthesis of the evidence base on school leadership interventions and describes the opportunities for supporting such interventions under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Jan 25, 2017
Report
Report
Retention and Promotion of High-Quality Civil Service Workers in the Department of Defense Acquisition Workforce
This report uses administrative data from Defense Manpower Data Center files to address questions about factors that affect personnel retention and career advancement in the civilian acquisition workforce.
Jan 6, 2015
Report
Report
Options for Department of Defense Total Workforce Supply and Demand Analysis: Potential Approaches and Available Data Sources
This report reviews approaches used in the private sector and government organizations to determine workforce supply and demand and describes data sources available to Department of Defense managers to support analysis from a total force perspective.
Dec 3, 2014
Report
Preparing Principals to Raise Student Achievement: Implementation and Effects of the New Leaders Program in Ten Districts
This report describes New Leaders, a nonprofit dedicated to preparing principals to lead schools to greater achievement, the implementation of its program, and the program's effect on student achievement.
May 13, 2014
Report
Report
Preparing Principals to Raise Student Achievement: Implementation and Effects of the New Leaders Program in Ten Districts — Appendix
This document presents technical appendixes to supplement the main evaluation report Preparing Principals to Raise Student Achievement: Implementation and Effects of the New Leaders Program in Ten Districts (RR-507-NL).
May 13, 2014
Research Brief
Principal Preparation Matters: How Leadership Affects Student Achievement
Summarizing a larger report, this briefing presents evidence of the effect that New Leaders, a nonprofit dedicated to preparing principals to lead schools to greater achievement, has on student achievement.
May 13, 2014
Infographic
Laying the Foundation for Successful School Leadership
States and school districts can play an important role in helping principals be more successful and guide their schools more effectively by undertaking actions in four key areas.
May 8, 2014
Research Brief
Healing Medical Product Innovation
Identifies promising policy options to spur the creation of new medical technologies that will reduce total U.S. health care spending or will provide health benefits that justify any increase in spending.
Apr 22, 2014
Report
Redirecting Innovation in U.S. Health Care: Options to Decrease Spending and Increase Value
This report identifies promising policy options to spur the creation of new medical technologies that will reduce total U.S. health care spending or will provide health benefits that justify any increase in spending.
Mar 31, 2014
Report
Laying the Foundation for Successful School Leadership
RAND researchers provide guidance on four areas particularly influential in supporting effectiveness of school principals -- placement in the school, evaluation, autonomy, and resources -- and highlight how to create conditions to foster principal success.
Nov 14, 2013
Report
Analyses of the Department of Defense Acquisition Workforce: Update to Methods and Results through FY 2011
RAND has been providing ongoing analysis of the defense acquisition workforce; this volume documents the methods and data and provides a user's manual for a model for projecting the future workforce supply.
Sep 19, 2013
Report
Supporting Employers in the Reserve Operational Forces Era: Are Changes Needed to Reservists' Employment Rights Legislation, Policies, or Programs?
This report describes an analysis of current employment rights protections for Reserve Component members and related support programs and makes recommendations stemming from that analysis.
Aug 22, 2013
Report
Report
Supporting Employers in the Reserve Operational Forces Era: Appendixes
This report describes an analysis of current employment rights protections for Reserve Component members and related support programs and makes recommendations stemming from that analysis.
Aug 22, 2013
Research Brief
Research Brief
Supporting Employers of Reserve Component Members
This brief details research finding that laws addressing employer obligations in the event of an employee's military duty–related absence are clear but that employer knowledge of obligations and where to go for help in fulfilling them is incomplete.
Aug 22, 2013
Report
Report
Addressing Challenges in Evaluating School Principal Improvement Efforts
This report describes challenges that states, districts, and other entities can expect to encounter as they evaluate efforts targeting school leadership as a way to improve student outcomes and offers suggestions for dealing with those challenges.
Oct 4, 2012
Research Brief
Evaluating Efforts to Improve School Leadership: Challenges and Recommendations
Efforts to improve school leadership may improve student outcomes. Evaluators and policymakers should allow time for improvements to show, use multiple evaluation measures, and interpret findings carefully before applying them to others.
Oct 4, 2012
Journal Article
Journal Article
Do Small-Group Health Insurance Regulations Influence Small Business Size?
State small-group health insurance reforms, implemented in the 1990s, aimed at controlling the variability of health insurance premiums and to improve access to health insurance. These reforms only affected firms within a specific size range, and as a result, they may have affected the size of small firms around the legislative threshold and may also have affected the propensity of small firms to offer health insurance.
Mar 1, 2012
Research Brief
Research Brief
Challenges and Opportunities Facing Principals in the First Year at a School
Presents a summary of research on first-year principals' experiences, actions, working conditions, and outcomes; the research is intended to inform efforts to promote school improvement and principal retention.
Feb 23, 2012
Report
First-Year Principals in Urban School Districts: How Actions and Working Conditions Relate to Outcomes
Presents research on first-year principals' experiences, actions, working conditions, and outcomes; the research is intended to inform efforts to promote school improvement and principal retention.
Feb 23, 2012
Report
Challenges to Value-Enhancing Innovation in Health Care Delivery: Commonalities and Contrasts with Innovation in Drugs and Devices
Discusses obstacles to steering innovation in health care toward activities that are worth their social costs and away from other innovative activities and considers drugs, devices, and delivery, with particular attention to delivery.
Oct 4, 2011
Research Brief
Research Brief
Does Employer-Based Health Insurance Discourage Entrepreneurship and New Business Creation?
Raises concerns that the bundling of health insurance and employment may discourage business creation.
Apr 7, 2011
Report
Report
From Marginal Adjustments to Meaningful Change: Rethinking Weapon System Acquisition
The authors present detailed proposals to improve defense acquisition through initiatives focused on competition, novel systems, risk management, organizational factors, prototyping, and the acquisition workforce.
Oct 8, 2010
Draft
Draft
Is Employer-Based Health Insurance A Barrier To Entrepreneurship?
Examines whether the focus on employer-provided health insurance in the United States may restrict business creation.
Sep 23, 2010
Draft
Draft
Preliminary Findings from the New Leaders for New Schools Evaluation
Presents preliminary findings on the impact of attending a school led by a K-8 school led by a New Leader.
Apr 29, 2010
Journal Article
Health Savings Accounts for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs: Shopping, Take-Up and Implementation Challenges
The Health Savings Account marketplace may have expanded access to health insurance for the smallest firms but not for small firms more generally, who face challenges in implementing them.
2010
Report
Report
The Department of the Navy's Civilian Acquisition Workforce: An Analysis of Recent Trends
Summarizes defense acquisition workforce analyses that RAND has undertaken for the Department of the Navy.
Jan 14, 2009
Journal Article
Journal Article
Meeting Family and Military Needs Through Military Child Care
This article summarizes results from a child care survey of military families conducted by the RAND Corporation in 2004 and draws policy implications for the military child care system.
2009
Report
Report
Shining a Spotlight on the Defense Acquisition Workforce -- Again
Examines concerns about the size, quality, and effectiveness of the defense acquisition workforce and highlights areas where better evidence is needed to understand the linkage between workforce attributes and acquisition outcomes.
2009
Research Brief
Research Brief
Does the Military Child Care System Serve Its Purpose?
This research brief summarizes research suggesting that the U.S. Department of Defense may wish to consider expanding its child care benefits to cover more military families and a broader set of child care needs.
Sep 22, 2008
Report
Report
Options for Improving the Military Child Care System
In support of recruitment, readiness, and retention goals, this paper suggests that the U.S. Department of Defense may wish to expand its child care benefits to cover more military families and a broader set of child care needs.
Sep 13, 2008
Report
Report
The Defense Acquisition Workforce: An Analysis of Personnel Trends Relevant to Policy, 1993–2006
Summarizes defense acquisition workforce analyses that RAND has undertaken in support of human capital strategic planning.
Jul 9, 2008
Research Brief
Research Brief
State Insurance Mandates and Consumer-Directed Health Plans: Are They Helping Small Business Provide Health Insurance to Employees?
This research brief describes the effects of state health-insurance mandates and consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) on the access to and affordability of health insurance for small businesses.
Dec 5, 2007
Research Brief
Research Brief
Is Special Regulatory Treatment for Small Businesses Working as Intended?
This research brief summarizes a compilation of studies on several kinds of regulation of small firms and their intended and actual effects, as well as how to ensure that such regulations have the effects intended.
Dec 4, 2007
Research Brief
Research Brief
Do Benefits of Sarbanes-Oxley Justify the Costs? Empirical Evidence in the Case of Small Firms
This research brief summarizes the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) on small firms based on a review of studies of relative compliance costs, stock-price reactions, and exit patterns from the public market.
Nov 28, 2007
Draft
Draft
Consumer-Directed Health Plans And Health Savings Accounts: Have They Worked For Small Businesses?
Examines whether consumer-directed health plans and health savings accounts have worked for small businesses.
Oct 22, 2007
Report
Report
In the Name of Entrepreneurship? The Logic and Effects of Special Regulatory Treatment for Small Business
What are the differential effects of regulation and policy on small businesses? What is the impact of special regulatory treatment for small businesses? This book offers analysis of key public policy issues with implications for small businesses.
Oct 19, 2007
Draft
Draft
State Health Insurance Mandates, Consumer Directed Health Plans and Health Savings Accounts: Are They a Panacea for Small Businesses?
Examines the effect of two types of policy initiatives that could have substantial benefits for small business: state health insurance mandates and key components of several others plans that tend to shift costs to the consumer.
Aug 23, 2007
Research Brief
Research Brief
Need for High-Quality Child Care Affects Military Readiness and Retention
This research brief presents focus group and survey results that point to several options for improving the Department of Defense's approach to addressing the child-care needs of military families.
Feb 2, 2007
Draft
Draft
Do Small Group Health Insurance Regulations Influence Small Business Growth?
Examine the effect of small-group insurance reforms on the size of smallbusinesses.
Oct 25, 2006
Report
Report
Examining Child Care Need Among Military Families
Describes and analyzes the results of a 2004 military family survey of child care need and child care choices, defining outcomes of potential interest to DoD and their effect on readiness and retention.
Oct 10, 2006
Report
Report
Providing Child Care to Military Families: The Role of the Demand Formula in Defining Need and Informing Policy
Assesses the formula used by the Department of Defense to determine child-care demand and the factors affecting the child-care needs of military families.
Oct 10, 2006
Report
Report
Civilian Workforce Planning in the Department of Defense: Different Levels, Different Roles
Explores workforce planning and requirements determination at Department of Defense (DoD) installations, and identifies potential planning-process roles for the Office of the Secretary of Defense and data sources for DoD-wide workforce planning.
May 1, 2006
Draft
Draft
The Impact of Regulation and Litigation on Small Business and Entrepreneurship: An Overview
Surveys existing research and the general state of knowledge about the impact of regulation and legislation on small business, focusing on the areas of corporate securities, environmental protection, employment, and health insurance.
Mar 3, 2006
Report
Report
The Effects of A-76 Cost Comparisons on DoD Civilian Education and Training
The authors found that A-76 cost comparisons appear to generate cost savings, but at the cost of degraded employee morale and customer service.
Jan 13, 2006
Draft
Draft
Criteria Used to Define a Small Business in Determining Thresholds for the Application of Federal Statutes
This paper reviews federal workplace, environmental, economic regulations. It describes the purpose of and requirements associated with the regulations, any penalties associated with regulatory violations and how requirements or penalties differ for small v. large firms.
Sep 13, 2005
Report
Report
High-Performance Government: Structure, Leadership, Incentives
In this book, RAND experts in public policy and management suggest practical ways to implement the recommendations and define a research agenda for the future.
Jan 5, 2005
Report
Report
Career Paths of School Administrators in Illinois: Insights from an Analysis of State Data
A further exploration of school administrators and the issue of their shortage and their importance to student learning outcomes, this report adds to the current understanding of school administrators' careers.
Dec 13, 2004
Report
Report
Career Paths of School Administrators in North Carolina: Insights from an Analysis of State Data
A further exploration of school administrators and the issue of their shortage and their importance to student learning outcomes, this report adds to the current understanding of school administrators' careers.
Dec 13, 2004
Report
Report
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) and Organizational Restructuring in the DoD: Implications for Education and Training Infrastructure
Looks at how Department of Defense (DoD) education, training, and development institutions are affected by the consolidation of DoD facilities and changes in governance structure.
Oct 27, 2004
Report
Report
Intern Programs as a Human Resources Management Tool for the Department of Defense
Findings and policy recommendations on internships in support of DoD's goal of determining ways to recruit the civilian workforce to replace the retiring workers and respond to workforce changes likely to accompany the impending military transformation.
Aug 19, 2004
Research Brief
Research Brief
Base Realignment and Closure: An Opportunity to Reassess DoD's Civilian Education and Training Infrastructure
2004
Research Brief
Research Brief
The Careers of Public School Admisistrators: Policy Implications from an Analysis of State-Level Data
Who is leading our nation's schools?
2004
Commercial Book
Commercial Book
In Pursuit of Prestige: Strategy and Competition in U.S. Higher Education
This volume examines higher education as an industry. The authors focus on how institutions serve four identifiable markets that generate revenue (student enrollment, research funding, public fiscal support, and private giving).
2004
Report
Report
Who is Leading our Schools? An Overview of School Administrators and Their Careers
Presents what is known about attracting and retaining school administrators, including the factors that influence people's decisions to pursue an administrative career, and concludes that there is no national shortage of qualified people for school administrative positions.
May 19, 2003
Report
Report
Strategic Assessment and Development of Interorganizational Influence in the Absence of Hierarchical Authority
Presents, for organizations that seek to influence others without the benefit of hierarchical authority, a three-stage framework that will help them capitalize on the power-and-influence options available to them.
2003
Report
Report
A Strategic Governance Review for Multi-organizational Systems of Education, Training, and Professional Development
Outlines an approach for describing and evaluating external governance in a multi-organizational system of education, training, and professional development.
2003
Report
Report
Challenges in Defense Working Capital Fund Pricing: Analysis of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service
Examining the pricing structure of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service and its impact on customer demand, workload, and equity in pricing
2003
Report
Report
The Labor Market for Attorneys in the State of California: Past, Present, and Future
What are the future workforce needs for lawyers in California? This report seeks to identify supply-demand mismatches in the legal marketplace and assesses the need for new policy initiatives.
2003
Research Brief
Research Brief
Are Schools Facing a Shortage of Qualified Administrators?
This research brief describes work documented in Who Is Leading Our Schools? An Overview of School Administrators and Their Careers (MR-1679-EDU).
2003
Report
Report
Examining the Cost of Military Child Care
This book presents estimates of the cost of providing care in DoD-operated Child Development Centers(CDCs), Family Child Care (FCC) homes, and centers operated by outside providers under contract to the DoD.
Apr 29, 2002
Research Brief
Research Brief
Improving the Quality of DoD’s Civilian Workforce: Guidance for the Office of the Chancellor for Education and Professional Development
Among the recommendations is that the Chancellor's office focus on becoming the DoD educational information center in the near term while seeking, over the medium term, to develop a role in the program approval process.
2002
Periodical
Periodical
RAND Review: Vol. 26, No. 2, Summer 2002
Surveys RAND research conducted since Sept. 11, 2001, that examines the dimensions of the terrorist threat and potential responses to it, and issues such as global priorities, oversees deployments, homeland security, and state and local initiatives.
2002
Research Brief
Research Brief
What Are the Costs of Operating the Military’s Child Care System?
This research brief describes work documented in Examining the Cost of Military Child Care (MR-1415-OSD).
2002
Report
Report
Improving the Defense Finance and Accounting Service's Interactions With Its Customers
Today, DFAS provides a variety of finance and accounting services to military customers. This report examines DFAS's interactions with customers to determine how those interactions might be improved.
2001
Report
Report
Ensuring the Quality and Productivity of Education and Professional Development Activities: A Review of Approaches and Lessons for DoD
This book examines the approaches used to evaluate academic quality and productivity in a variety of postsecondary education and training contexts, including corporations, state governments, and universities.
2001
Report
Report
Strategic and Performance Planning for the Office of the Chancellor for Education and Professional Development in the Department of Defense
Examines several approaches to strategic planning for the DoD Office of the Chancellor for Education and Professional Development.
2001
Research Brief
Research Brief
Civilian Education and Training in the Department of Defense: How Can We Gauge Its Value?
DoD's education and training efforts are highly decentralized and suggests that defense policymakers can gauge the caliber of those efforts by choosing one of four assessment approaches.
2001
Research Brief
Research Brief
Improving the DoD's Defense Finance and Accounting Service
DFAS's performance could be improved through changes in DFAS's pricing system and in the nature of many of its transactions with customers.
2001
Draft
Draft
In Pursuit of Prestige: Strategy and Competition in U.S. Higher Education, Technical Papers
This volume is a companion to In Pursuit of Prestige: Strategy and Competition in U.S. Higher Education, published by Transaction Press, 2001.
2001
Report
Report
Personnel Savings in Competitively Sourced DoD Activities: Are They Real? Will They Last?
In recent years, the Department of Defense (DoD) has placed increasing faith in competitive sourcing to make its operations more efficient and effective.
2000
Research Brief
Research Brief
Does Competitive Sourcing Pay Off? : The DoD Experience
In recent years, the Department of Defense (DoD) has placed increasing faith in private-sector business practices as tools to save money and make its operations more efficient and effective.
2000
Report
Report
Defense Working Capital Fund Pricing Policies: Insights from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service
Examining DFAS data on expenditures and workload to explore possibilities for improved operations, the authors argue that current linear pricing of Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) services is inappropriate.
1999
Report
Report
Comparing the Costs of DoD Military and Civil Service Personnel
In an era of heightened concern within DoD over operating costs, there is renewed interest in civilianization — the transfer of functions performed by military personnel to civil service personnel.
1998
Research Brief
Research Brief
Can Civilianization Save on Costs?
While conventional wisdom argues that civil service workers are cheaper than their military counterparts, little analysis has been done to determine whether this is really so.
1998
Report
Report
Outsourcing of DoD Commercial Activities: Impacts on Civil Service Employees
Develop recommendations for improving the productivity of the civil service workforce (making it more competitive in outsourcing cost-comparison studies) and making the cost-comparison process fairer to government employees.
1997
Draft
Draft
Understanding Productivity in Higher Education
... to present an overview of the literature on productivity in higher education and in the service sector more generally, and to provide a framework for thinking about productivity improvement for state higher education systems.
1997

Multimedia

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The Elementary and Secondary Education Act: Maintaining Accountability and Nurturing Innovation Through a Reauthorized ESEA
May 22, 2012