The RAND Blog

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Helping Mothers Return to Work Is a Gender Equality Issue

Employers and policymakers play a crucial role in ensuring that women are not unnecessarily disadvantaged when they have children. Policies such as access to family leave, job protection, and childcare options can play a large role.

Michaela Bruckmayer, Joanna Hofman @JoannaBHofman

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Who Gets Care When Hospitals Are Overwhelmed? Clear Policies Are Often Lacking

As COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surge to new highs, states, health systems, and the public continue to need clarity on health care resource allocation policy. A RAND checklist provides clear and consistent criteria for structuring such difficult decisions.

Lori Frank @LoriBethFrank, Thomas W. Concannon @tconcannon

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Why We Need a January 6 Commission to Investigate the Attack on the Capitol

The history of politically charged violence in and against the United States can be read in the reports of its national commissions. The takeover of the U.S. Capitol on January 6 demands such an inquiry.

Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins

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Keep the Vaccine Moving to Save the Most Lives

The United States is waiting to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and millions of doses wait for arms. Policymakers at the national, state, and local levels have been stockpiling the shots for many reasons. While supply ramps up, policymakers could push to deliver vaccine to people instead of freezers.

Carter C. Price @CarterCPrice, John F. Raffensperger

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Getting COVID-19 Vaccines to Pennsylvania Residents

Pennsylvania state and county health departments have a number of options that could speed the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to make sure Pennsylvania residents at high risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes are vaccinated as soon as possible.

Adam C. Resnick

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For Joe Biden, an Experienced Foreign Policy Team

As President-elect Biden fills out his foreign policy team he might wish to reach out to a few foreign affairs professionals who sat out the Trump administration in order to fill positions in fields where some degree of bipartisanship remains a possibility. These areas might include relations with allies and with the two major U.S. competitors, Russia and China.

James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins

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How Joe Biden Can Galvanize Space Diplomacy

The potential for conflicts to originate in outer space, or for terrestrial conflicts to extend there, has grown with the development of counterspace weapons and the explosion of commercial space activity. But previous efforts to establish norms have had limited results. The Biden administration has an opportunity, working with like-minded allies and partners, to galvanize nascent international efforts.

Stephen J. Flanagan, Bruce McClintock @BHMcClintock

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Supporting Working Parents Could Accelerate Recovery

Since the COVID-19 recession started last February, almost 3 million women have left the labor force. With vaccines rolling out, will they go back to work? There are several policies that could help.

Melanie A. Zaber @MelanieZaber, Kathryn A. Edwards

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Political Violence, COVID-19 Vaccine Questions, Mental Health Care: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on why we need to brace for more political violence after the Capitol attack, COVID-19 vaccine questions and answers, how to reform the U.S. mental health system, and more.

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Why Overseas Military Bases Continue to Make Sense for the United States

Voices on the left and right have proposed downsizing America's overseas military footprint. While the merits of basing in a particular location should be open to debate, the underlying twin logics of deterrence and reassurance behind permanently stationing American forces overseas remain operationally, economically, and strategically as sound as ever.

Raphael S. Cohen

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COVID-19 Has Offered Opportunities for Communities to Come Together

The past year has been among the most turbulent in recent memory. Might recent crises provide a catalyst for a renewed sense of civic engagement that transcends some of the race and class divisions COVID-19 has exacerbated?

Katherine Grace Carman, Tamara Dubowitz @TamaraDubowitz, et al.

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Now Could Be the Time to Form Policy for Emerging Brain- and Body-Enhancement Technologies

Policymakers might consider developing appropriate policy frameworks for emerging brain- and body-enhancement technologies to ensure that innovations harnessed for societal, economic, or military benefits do not create new vulnerabilities and that governments adequately defend and manage against potential attacks. The technology is quickly moving forward. Policy may need to play catch-up.

Mary Lee @MaryLee_PhD, Timothy Marler, et al.

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COVID-19 Options for 2021

The disorganized public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States helped ensure that the nation led the world in infections nearly from the beginning of the pandemic. With vaccines now becoming available, are we over the problem? Not necessarily.

Rafiq Dossani

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Local Communities Need a Voice in How to 'Build Back Better'

Long before it was popularized and made its way into political slogans and economic recovery battle cries, the phrase “building back better” was a central tenet of disaster recovery and community resilience. How should community voices be incorporated into “building back better” processes?

Max Izenberg, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg @aclarkginsberg

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Biden Will Inherit Healthy Indo-Pacific Alliances

Certainly there is much work ahead as the United States embarks on the next chapter of competition against China throughout the Indo-Pacific. But U.S. alliances and partnerships are in good shape—the result of a growing Indo-Pacific consensus on the existential economic and security threat China poses.

Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman