The RAND Blog

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China Is Organizing the VR Industry. The United States Could Do the Same

Given the potential value of virtual reality as a tool—and the increasing competition from China—the United States could focus more energy on advancing VR in a coordinated fashion. Otherwise, America risks missing an opportunity to excel internationally with a valuable and broadly applicable emerging technology.

Will Shumate, Timothy Marler

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Biden's Indo-Pacific Policy Blueprint Emerges

The Biden administration has yet to detail its goals in the Indo-Pacific region and how it plans to achieve them. But following recent virtual engagements and U.S. visits to the region, at least three key points have crystallized.

Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman

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Insights on Afghanistan, Back to School, North Korea: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the collapse in Afghanistan, what parents think about sending kids back to school, insights from game theory on North Korean denuclearization, and more.

q&a

Collapse in Afghanistan: Early Insights from RAND Researchers

The sudden end to America's longest war came as the Taliban rolled into Kabul and the government collapsed. RAND researchers share their thoughts on how to help displaced Afghans, whether the country could again become a safe haven for terrorists, and the geopolitical implications of the collapse.

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Climate Change Is Only One Driver of Explosive Wildfire Season—Don't Forget Land Management

The fire seasons that have been scorching huge areas and wiping entire towns from the map appear to be the future. Accepting that wildland fires are a part of our environment and working to live with fires rather than continuously fighting against them may be the most responsible path forward.

Jim Whittington, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg @aclarkginsberg, et al.

blog

Defunding Prisons, Preventing Cyberattacks, Promoting COVID-19 Vaccinations: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on defunding prisons, how to deter ransomware attacks, overcoming barriers to COVID-19 vaccination, and more.

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Which Kremlin Can Investors Expect?

A Kremlin that backs sound macroeconomic policy and a strong private sector could hearten investors. A Kremlin that pursues statist economics and security at all costs could discourage them. Which Kremlin should investors expect?

William Courtney @courtneywmh

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How Have Communities Been Faring During COVID-19? And How Will Lessons Learned Inform Future Response and Planning?

As the United States emerges from the devastation of the pandemic, it may be time to examine the choices communities made during the last year to see how these approaches shape continued COVID-19 response and recovery and help build resilience for future pandemic response.

Anita Chandra, Linnea Warren May @LinneaKWMay, et al.

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Stress Tests: The Right Tool for Strengthening Supply Chains

Isolated interruptions to individual supply chains feel like a thing of the past. Today, the risks are more likely to cut across supply chains and leave companies vulnerable to shared or cascading threats. If we want to make supply chains more resilient, it's time to apply some stress tests.

Jonathan W. Welburn @jwwelburn

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Applying Machiavellian Discourses to the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq

After 20 years of war without victory in both Afghanistan and Iraq, it is time to derive key lessons from both conflicts to avoid repeating the same mistakes. Niccolò Machiavelli, whose insights on statecraft have endured for five centuries, is a valuable guide in analyzing those lessons.

Scott Savitz

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Reframing Retirement

Retirement is a fluid concept. Many retirees would consider returning to the workforce if conditions were right and they could set their own pace. A reframing of the aging and retirement process would allow us to see the issue in a new way.

Bonnie Hagemann, Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_, et al.

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How the United States Can Deter Ransomware Attacks

To rein in ransomware attacks, the United States needs to upend the risk-reward ratio for hackers and for the countries that harbor or support them. Such a strategy would make networks harder to breach, hit back harder against hackers, and claw back gains from those who succeed.

Jonathan W. Welburn @jwwelburn, Quentin E. Hodgson @QHodgson

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Defund Prisons, Not Police

The United States spends billions on prisons, jails, and juvenile detention facilities. New lows in incarceration rates present a chance to shift resources away from costly correctional facilities and toward education, job training, transportation, and other community services.

Shawn D. Bushway @BushwayShawn, Nidhi Kalra

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Commercialisation and Open Science Do Not Have to Be Uneasy Bedfellows

On the surface, tension exists between commercialization and open science approaches to research. But the two approaches are not irreconcilable--they can exist in harmony and complement one another to generate greater impact from investments in research and innovation.

Hamish Evans, Sarah Parkinson, et al.

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Rebuild Public Health for the Next Pandemic?

COVID-19 exposed how underprepared the United States was for a pandemic and raised questions about preparedness for the next one. With political will to spend money on public health, how can America take a holistic view of all the options? And how should investments be prioritized?

Edward W. Chan, Andrew M. Parker