Paul Heaton

Tax Reform Could Raise Car Insurance Rates

The new tax law eliminates the individual mandate. When this repeal takes effect in 2019, millions more Americans are expected to go without health insurance. Auto insurers will likely pick up the tab for some of that population's medical care. That could raise car insurance premiums.

Americans' Hearts, but Not Necessarily Wallets, Will Be Open for Victims of Navy Yard Shootings

Comparisons are already being drawn between Monday's terrible events in the Washington Navy Yard and other recent high profile mass shootings, including those that occurred last year in Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo. However, one way in which this shooting may differ from other events is in who — if anybody — provides financial compensation for those who are injured.

Short-Term Savings, Long-Term Losses: When Police Departments Respond to Economic Pressure by Cutting Their Forces

Many police departments around the United States have faced budget cuts recently. Ultimately, say Paul Heaton and Brian Jackson, for police services, as with most other things, you get what you pay for.

PIP Mandate Keeps Michigan's Auto Premiums High

By offering consumers more flexibility in personal injury protection (PIP) coverage, the Michigan legislature can reduce costs for many drivers while enabling those who want the best coverage to continue to buy it, writes Paul Heaton.

Unraveling the IT Productivity Paradox—Lessons for Health Care

Although health care organizations have favorable characteristics that can maximize IT's benefits, the reengineering of health care delivery is only beginning, write Spencer Jones, Paul Heaton, Robert Rudin, and Eric Schneider.

Save Money Hire Police

The high cost of crime to society suggests that adding police officers may give large cities a sizable return on their investments, write Greg Ridgeway and Paul Heaton.

Do Higher Crime Rates Cause a Decrease in Religiosity?

If we observe that high crime and low levels of religious belief or high levels of belief and low crime go hand in hand, how should we interpret that correlation? asks Paul Heaton.

Journal Article

A Natural Experiment to Test the Effect of Sanction Certainty and Celerity on Substance-Impaired Driving: North Dakota's 24/7 Sobriety Program

Over half of participants ordered to abstain from substance use complete 24/7 Sobriety without a detected substance use event. At the county level, the program is associated with a 9% reduction in substance-impaired driving arrests.

Journal Article

Medicaid Coverage Expansions and Liability Insurance

This article offers some of the first rigorous evidence regarding the impacts of health coverage expansions targeting the low-income population on use of the tort system, as proxied by insurance payouts.

Journal Article

The Effect of Mandatory Insurer Reporting on Settlement Delay

This article examines this problem empirically, using a rich, national data set of closed automobile bodily injury claims.

Journal Article

The Effects of Holistic Defense on Criminal Justice Outcomes

Using administrative data covering over half a million cases and a quasi-experimental research design, we estimate the causal effect of holistic defense on case outcomes and future offending.

Research Brief

Holistic Representation: An Innovative Approach to Defending Poor Clients Can Reduce Incarceration and Save Taxpayer Dollars — Without Harm to Public Safety

Holistic defense is an innovative and promising approach to defending poor clients in criminal cases, and this brief summarizes the first large-scale empirical evaluation of the impact of holistic representation on criminal justice outcomes.

Journal Article

Does It Matter Who Pays for Auto Injuries?

In many states, auto insurers rather than health insurers pay for a substantial fraction of the medical care following auto crashes.

Report

Comparing Ex-Servicemember and Civilian Use of Unemployment Insurance

Drawing from a data set with unemployment compensation for ex-service members and unemployment insurance claims from 2002 to 2012, this report provides a first portrait of the job search process of ex-service members relative to that for civilians.

Draft

The Effect of Health Insurance Coverage Expansions on Auto Liability Claims and Costs

Examines the effect of health insurance coverage expansions on auto liability claims and costs.

Research Brief

How Does Expanding Health Insurance Coverage Affect Workers' Compensation Costs?

The Affordable Care Act's expansion of coverage for people under age 26 led to a 1-percent reduction in uninsurance, equating to a 0.8-percent decrease in workers' compensation claim frequency, and a roughly 1-percent decrease in overall claim costs.

Draft

Health Insurance and Workers' Compensation Claiming: Evidence from the Affordable Care Act

Exploits the Affordable Care Act young adult dependent coverage expansion to measure the effect of health coverage expansions on workers' compensation claim frequency and severity.

Report

Consumer Attitudes Toward Data Breach Notifications and Loss of Personal Information

This report sets out the results of a study of consumer attitudes toward data breaches, notifications of those breaches, and company responses to such events.

Infographic

Data Theft Victims, and Their Response to Breach Notifications

This infographic highlights the results of a study of consumer attitudes toward data breaches, notifications of those breaches, and company responses to such events.

Journal Article

Can a Criminal Justice Alcohol Abstention Programme with Swift, Certain, and Modest Sanctions (24/7 Sobriety) Reduce Population Mortality? A Retrospective Observational Study

In this study we examine whether the 24/7 Sobriety programme in South Dakota, USA—the largest such programme to date—is associated with reductions in mortality.

Journal Article

The Short- and Long-Run Effects of Private Law Enforcement: Evidence from University Police

This paper seeks new evidence on the impact of private police on crime, exploiting a unique setting, the University of Chicago Police Department, that permits a credible examination of the causal effect of police in both the short and long run.

Journal Article

How Does Tort Law Affect Consumer Auto Insurance Costs?

Using data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey and a differences-in-differences research design, this article examines whether any of several common state-level modifications to tort law affect consumer costs for auto insurance.

Journal Article

Victim Compensation Funds and Tort Litigation Following Incidents of Mass Violence

Explores the issue of how victim compensation funds (VCFs) impact a victim's likelihood to sue using the tort system. VCFs have become a feature of the policy landscape following high-profile tragedies.

Journal Article

Assessing the Effects of Medical Marijuana Laws on Marijuana Use: The Devil Is in the Details

This paper sheds light on previous inconsistencies identified in the literature regarding the relationship between medical marijuana laws (MMLs) and recreational marijuana use by closely examining the importance of policy and the timing of when particular policy dimensions are enacted.

Journal Article

The Effect of Malpractice Reform on Emergency Department Care

Many believe that fear of malpractice lawsuits drives physicians to order otherwise unnecessary care and that legal reforms could reduce such wasteful spending.

Infographic

In Broad Daylight: New Calculator Brings Crime Costs — and the Value of Police — Out of the Shadows

RAND's Cost of Crime Calculator lets city leaders and residents calculate the total cost of crime in their communities and assess the potential value of hiring additional police officers.

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.

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).

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.

Report

How Will the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Affect Liability Insurance Costs?

This report identifies potential mechanisms through which health care reform might affect claim costs for several major types of liability coverage, especially auto insurance, workers' compensation coverage, and medical malpractice.

Research Brief

The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Liability Insurance

Summarizes a report that identifies potential mechanisms through which health care reform might affect claim costs for several major types of liability coverage, especially auto insurance, workers’ compensation coverage, and medical malpractice.

Journal Article

The Effects of Medical Marijuana Laws on Potency

Marijuana potency has risen dramatically over the past two decades. In the United States, it is unclear whether state medical marijuana policies have contributed to this increase.

Report

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the Earnings of Military Reservists

This report investigates the effects of being symptomatic of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on labor market earnings of reservists in the years following deployment.

Journal Article

Efficacy of Frequent Monitoring with Swift, Certain, and Modest Sanctions for Violations: Insights from South Dakota 24/7 Sobriety Project

In community supervision settings, frequent alcohol testing with swift, certain, and modest sanctions for violations can reduce problem drinking and improve public health outcomes.

Research Brief

An Innovative Way to Curb Problem Drinking: South Dakota's 24/7 Sobriety Project

South Dakota's 24/7 Sobriety Project, in which individuals with alcohol-involved offenses submit to breathalyzer tests twice per day or wear an alcohol monitoring bracelet at all times, reduced repeat DUI arrests at the county level by 12 percent.

Report

Unemployment Among Post-9/11 Veterans and Military Spouses After the Economic Downturn

Policymakers need to understand whether military spouses succeed at finding jobs and how veterans fare economically after they leave the military. But these groups differ from the civilian population in important ways, making comparisons difficult.

Journal Article

How Much Difference Does the Lawyer Make? The Effect of Defense Counsel on Murder Case Outcomes

The vast difference in outcomes for defendants assigned different counsel types raises important questions about the adequacy and fairness of the criminal justice system.

Report

Analysis of Financial Support to the Surviving Spouses and Children of Casualties in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars

Examines how the combat death of service members affects the subsequent labor market earnings of surviving spouses and the extent to which federal survivor benefits compensate for lost household earnings.

Report

Compensating Wounded Warriors: An Analysis of Injury, Labor Market Earnings, and Disability Compensation Among Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars

Analyzes the effect of injuries sustained by service members in Iraq and Afghanistan on post-deployment labor market earnings and the extent to which disability payments compensate for any lost earnings.

Journal Article

Unraveling the IT Productivity Paradox -- Lessons for Health Care

Productivity gains that can be achieved by widely adopting health information technology are likely to come from the reengineering of health care and may require new measurement tools to accurately gauge their impact.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 36, No. 1, Spring 2012

Stories cover Iran's nuclear threat, social security in Mexico, programs for veterans, crime costs, U.S. efforts in Afghanistan, the health insurance mandate, legal defense, marijuana legalization, global education, and Louisiana's coastal planning.

Report

The Impact of Health Care Reform on Workers’ Compensation Medical Care: Evidence from Massachusetts

Uses the experience of Massachusetts's heath care reform to empirically estimate how health reform impacts the volume and cost of workers' compensation hospital care.

Report

The Effects of Hiring Tax Credits on Employment of Disabled Veterans

Estimates the effects of the 2007 expansion of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit program, which offered tax credits to employers who hired certain groups of veterans, including those with service-connected disabilities.

Research Brief

Improving Disabled Veterans' Employment Prospects Using Tax Credits

Estimates the effects of the 2007 expansion of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit program, which offered tax credits to employers who hired certain groups of veterans, including those with service-connected disabilities.

Report

Compensation for Combat Deaths: Policy Considerations

This briefing identifies policy questions related to compensating service members and their survivors for fatality risk. It compares combat fatality patterns with fatalities occurring in other contexts and discusses current compensation programs.

Journal Article

Sunday Liquor Laws and Crime

This paper analyzes the effects of legalization of Sunday packaged liquor sales on crime, focusing on the phased introduction of such sales in Virginia beginning in 2004.

Draft

How Much Difference Does the Lawyer Make? The Effect of Defense Counsel on Murder Case Outcomes

Describes the results of a study to examine the effect of defense counsel on outcomes in murder prosecutions in Philadelphia.

Journal Article

Today's 'Meaningful Use' Standard for Medication Orders by Hospitals May Save Few Lives; Later Stages May Do More

Current federal standards for hospital "meaningful use" of health information technology--which requires electronic medication orders for 30 percent of eligible patients--are probably too low to reduce deaths from heart failure and heart attack among hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries.

Draft

Sunday Liquor Laws and Crime

Analyzes the effects of legalization of Sunday packaged liquor sales on crime, focusing on the phased introduction of such sales in Virginia beginning in 2004.

Research Brief

Sexual Orientation and U.S. Personnel Policy Revisited

Summarizes results of a RAND Corporation study on sexual orientation and U.S. military policy requested by the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Secretary of Defense in order to weigh repeal of the law known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Report

Sexual Orientation and U.S. Military Personnel Policy: An Update of RAND's 1993 Study

Shares results of a study on sexual orientation and U.S. military policy, requested by the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Secretary of Defense in order to weigh the repeal of the law known as ''Don't Ask, Don't Tell.''

Report

An Analysis of the Incidence of Recruiter Irregularites

Data from 2007 through 2009 are used to tabulate the incidence and prevalence of recruiter irregularities.

Research Brief

Do Bonuses Affect Enlistment and Reenlistment?

Congress has questioned the scope and efficacy of enlistment and reenlistment bonuses, but Army high-quality recruiting would have been lower without them; they are more cost-effective than pay but less so than recruiters as a way to gain recruits.

Report

Cash Incentives and Military Enlistment, Attrition, and Reenlistment

The Department of Defense budget for enlistment and reenlistment bonuses increased greatly over the past decade, leading some to ask whether bonuses were the most cost-effective way to increase the supply of personnel to the armed forces.

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.

Report

Hidden in Plain Sight: What Cost-of-Crime Research Can Tell Us About Investing in Police

Research on the cost of crime and the effectiveness of police in preventing crime can be used to better understand the returns on investments in police. Returns on investments in police personnel are likely to be substantial.

Research Brief

Reducing Michigan Auto Insurance Rates

Higher auto insurance rates in Michigan lead to a high proportion of drivers without auto insurance. Introducing options or fee schedules for personal injury protection coverage could help lead to broader, more-affordable choices.

Report

The U.S. Experience with No-Fault Automobile Insurance: A Retrospective

This monograph reviews the history of no-fault auto insurance in the United States and concludes that political support for no-fault dissipated because premium costs under no-fault have been higher than tort largely due to higher medical costs.

Research Brief

What Happened to No-Fault Automobile Insurance?

This brief reviews the decline in popularity of no-fault automobile insurance. The main reason for this decline is rising costs: no-fault offers more medical services to accident victims and pays more for the same care than tort insurance.

Report

Information Technology, Organization, and Productivity in the Public Sector: Evidence from Police Departments

Examines the relationship between information technology, organization, and productivity in the public sector using a panel data set of police departments that covers 1987 through 2003.

Draft

Judicial Expenditures and Litigation Access: Evidence from Auto Injuries

Measures the relationship between state-level court expenditures and the propensity of injured parties to pursue litigation.

Report

Auto Insurance Reform in Michigan: What Can the Data Tell Us?

Legislators and consumer groups in Michigan have recently proposed reforms designed to reduce the costs of auto insurance in the state. Reforms that change claiming behavior may have considerable potential for lowering auto premiums in Michigan.

Research Brief

Explaining Recent Army and Navy Minority Recruiting Trends

Identifies factors that explain recruiting trends among blacks and Hispanics from 2000 to 2007, including the responsiveness of these groups to various recruiting resources as well as other factors, such as the effect of the Iraq war.

Report

Recruiting Minorities: What Explains Recent Trends in the Army and Navy?

Identifies factors that explain trends in black and Hispanic representation among high-quality recruits in the Army and Navy; considers which policies are likely to be most effective in increasing high-quality enlistments within different groups.

Draft

FY2006 Anti-Gang Initiative Grants in the Central District of California: Report to the U.S. Attorney

Reports on the FY2006 Anti-Gang Initiative for the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, who coordinates the Project Safe Neighborhood programs in his district.

Draft

Does Treatment Respond to Reimbursement Rates? Evidence from Trauma Care

Using data from inpatient hospitalizations surrounding a 2003 Colorado auto insurance reform, tests the model of behavior that predicts physicians may respond dysfunctionally to financial incentives by recommending unnecessary treatment.

Draft

No-Fault Insurance and Automobile Accidents

Examines whether drivers under no-fault insurance causes more accidents.

Draft

Auto Liability in Nevada Compared to Other States: Testimony for Nevada Auto Theft and Insurance Fraud Task Force

Briefing prepared as testimony for the Nevada Auto Theft and Insurance Fraud Task Force intended to inform the Task Force about Nevada’s liability situation relative to other states.

Draft

Childhood Educational Disruption and Later Life Outcomes: Evidence from Prince Edward County

Examines the effects of a five-year school closing in Prince Edward County, Virginia, a result of opposition to court-ordered integration, on affected black children's educational attainment and economic outcomes.

Report

A synthesis of literature on the effectiveness of community orders

The U.K. National Audit Office (NAO) commissioned RAND Europe to conduct this review to identify and synthesize international research about the effectiveness of community orders in reducing re-offending.

Journal Article

Childhood Educational Disruption and Later Life Outcomes Evidence from Prince Edward County

Beginning in 1959, the public schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia, were closed for five years in opposition to court-ordered integration. Affected black students did not exhibit substantially worse material, health, and incarceration outcomes.