The RAND Blog

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Female Drivers Can Put Saudis on Road to Enhanced Growth

Allowing women to get behind the wheel will likely lead to significant long-term changes in Saudi Arabia's economy and the participation of women in the labor force.

Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson

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Why Sleep Matters to the World's Bottom Line

Sleep and sleep loss matters to all aspects of society, from an individual's health to the success of the global economy. Insufficient sleep costs five of the largest economies more than half a trillion dollars per year, but improving sleeping habits and duration can have major impacts.

Marco Hafner

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Debunking 5 Myths of Sleeping Together

About a third of American adults choose not to sleep with their partner, and evidence suggests that their ranks are growing. This decision often results in social stigma, including some dubious assumptions that sleeping apart is a sign of a sexless or otherwise unhappy marriage.

Wendy M. Troxel @wendytroxel

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Savings from a Single-Payer Health System Would Not Be Automatic

Polls have shown increasing public support for a single-payer system in the United States. Yet there is no agreement on how to set up and pay for a single-payer system or even how much it would cost.

Jodi L. Liu @jodilliu

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The Multilateral Order Makes America Stronger

Skeptics have suggested that U.S. interests and support for the international community are somehow mutually exclusive. In fact, international institutions, rules, and norms have mostly worked in the U.S. interest, not against it. The Trump administration has an opportunity to build on that record with a strong agenda of reform and support.

Michael J. Mazarr @MMazarr

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Round-Trip Tickets: How Will Authorities Know When Foreign Fighters Have Returned?

As the Islamic State's territory shrinks and its prestige declines, militants will try to find their way home. Many foreign fighters began as criminals, and many might turn to crime on their return. One of the most productive ways to identify and disrupt returning fighters is to focus on the criminal underworld.

Colin P. Clarke

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Addressing Europe's Migrant Crisis Takes More Than Stopping the Boats from Libya

Treating migration from Libya as a border security issue has reduced migration across the Mediterranean. But efforts to keep migrants in Libya are fraught with risks, exacerbate a massive human rights problem, and do not address Libya's long-term economic and political stabilization.

Amanda Kadlec, Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson

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How ISIS Is Transforming

The campaign to counter ISIS has made significant progress, but predictions of the group's demise are premature. It is transitioning from an insurgent organization with a fixed headquarters to a clandestine terrorist network dispersed throughout the globe.

Colin P. Clarke

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Do Americans Expect Too Much from Health Insurance?

Americans expect affordable coverage for pre-existing conditions, access to routine services, and protection from unpredictable and significant financial risk from accidents or illness. As a product designed primarily for risk protection, insurance may not be the most efficient or affordable approach to achieving all of these objectives.

Christine Eibner @Chrissyeibner, Katherine Grace Carman @KGCarman

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Book Review: 'The Chessboard and the Web' by Anne-Marie Slaughter

Few quests in international relations scholarship are as imperative and vexing as that of rethinking power — how it is defined, who wields which types, and what strategies different actors pursue to accumulate it. Slaughter's new book is a significant contribution to that end.

Ali Wyne

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What a 1963 Novel Tells Us About the French Army, Mission Command, and the Romance of the Indochina War

The novel La 317e Section (The 317th Platoon) informs and reflects an operating style rooted in the French Army's collective memory of the colonial wars. Colonial operations tended to be low-budget, small-footprint missions that placed junior officers in positions of considerable authority and responsibility. Service promised quick glory but was also more dangerous.

Michael Shurkin

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The Lack of Clarity Over Medical Support for Light Footprint Operations and How It Could Be Solved

Early identification and planning for medical support for EU-led military operations are vital to saving lives, treating injuries and keeping personnel healthy. Common standards would ensure high-quality and consistent medical support regardless of which country is providing it.

Susanne Sondergaard, Marta Kepe @martakepe

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How Hezbollah Came to Dominate Information Warfare

Hezbollah's information warfare portfolio includes newspapers, social media outlets, television programming, and a major internet presence. Its websites reflect the group's diverse agenda and aim to be multi-generational in their approach, offering information about social services as well as a video game to engage youth.

Colin P. Clarke

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Europe's Hour Is Here

Since World War II, the United States and the United Kingdom have played disproportionate roles in dealing with Russia. Now continental Europe must assume more of the burden in advancing Western values and interests with an unpredictable and at times unruly Moscow.

Denis Corboy, William Courtney @courtneywmh, et al.

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Exploring the Challenges Facing American Workers

A panel of experts at RAND discussed changes in the U.S. economy and findings from a survey that asked more than 3,000 Americans about issues they face in the workplace. Frequent hostility, rising inequality, slow wage growth, and changes in the demand for certain skills are some of the issues affecting workers.