Thomas Light is a senior economist at RAND and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. His research spans a variety of areas including military acquisition, cost, and logistics issues as well as transportation and energy policy. Examples of Light's research include an analysis of cost and schedule growth for military acquistion programs; a study of the effects of restructuring Air Force aircraft maintenance career fields; an assessment of the benefits and costs of speeding up highway expansion projects in Southern California; an analysis of alternative policy options for reducing domestic greenhouse gas emissions; an evaluation of strategies for reducing domestic oil consumption; and a review of equity concerns associated with congestion pricing. In addition to his research activities at RAND, Light has taught public finance at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Cornell University.
Selected Publications
Light, Thomas.; Romano, Daniel M.; Kennedy, Michael,; O'Connell, Caolionn.; Bednarz, Sean G., Consolidating Air Force Maintenance Occupational Specialties, RAND Corporation (RR-1307), 2016
Boito, Michael; Light, Thomas.; Mills, Patrick H.; Baldwin, Laura H, Managing U.S. Air Force Aircraft Operating and Support Costs: Insights from Recent RAND Analysis and Opportunities for the Future, RAND Corporation (RR-1077), 2016
T. Light, "Optimal Highway Design and User Welfare Under Value Pricing," Journal of Urban Economics, 66(2), 2009
L. Ecola and T. Light, Equity and Congestion Pricing: A Review of the Evidence, RAND Corporation (TR-680), 2009