The RAND Blog

commentary

The Important Role of Faith-Based Organizations in the Context of COVID-19

Maintaining social and spiritual connections in the midst of COVID-19 are not the only challenges facing communities of faith. Congregations play critical roles in providing social services within communities. How can their services, such as food assistance, be delivered safely?

Kathryn Pitkin Derose, Michael Mata

q&a

Who Calls the Shots During a Pandemic, the U.S. Government or States? Q&A with RAND Experts

The tension between the federal government and state and local authorities has highlighted a fundamental challenge of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic: Who's in charge?

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Coronavirus Will Require Changes in Schools When They Reopen to Protect Students

Schools will likely need to modify their practices so that their teachers, staff, and students maintain social distancing standards whenever they reopen. If a federal agency would create guidance, then educators could focus on teaching students.

Heather L. Schwartz @schwartz_hl

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COVID-19: The Questions Ahead for Future Travel and Transport

COVID-19 could have lasting effects on future travel patterns. Future scenarios, a method for visualizing different possible futures, can help inform decisions in deeply uncertain situations and can be used to think about policies that are important for people's quality of life regardless of how the future unfolds.

Charlene Rohr

commentary

Looking After Those Who Look After Us—How COVID-19 May Affect NHS Staff

COVID-19 may leave a long legacy of poor health and well-being in the National Health Service workforce. This could affect quality of care and the financial performance of the system. We need to ensure that NHS organizations provide significant support for health care workers.

Christian Van Stolk

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Why COVID-19 Will Not Stop Globalization

Commentators have predicted that the outbreak will upend how we think about the flow of people and goods across borders and leave a markedly different world in its wake. But while COVID-19 will change the mechanics of globalization, it will likely not spell globalization's death knell.

Raphael S. Cohen

commentary

Women and COVID-19: Studying the Impact of Sex and Gender

Much of current medical evidence is based largely on men. The current COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique opportunity to examine the potential value of asking questions about sex and gender differences to inform ongoing policy decisions.

Chloe E. Bird @ChloeBirdPhD, Lori Frank @LoriBethFrank, et al.

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The Danger of Converting a Health Crisis into a Financial Crisis

The impulse to do something to help businesses right now is well-intended, but lending to companies that were highly leveraged pre-crisis is a risky bet. Assistance could be best directed toward sound enterprises that are likely to survive and contribute to boosting the economy in the coming years.

Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_, Shanthi Nataraj, et al.

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The Coronavirus and North Korea: Is There a Cure for Kim's Nuclear Blackmail?

Despite the pandemic, North Korea's recent activities suggest that Kim Jong Un will likely stay the course in his ongoing campaign against the United States and the broader Northeast Asia region.

Soo Kim

commentary

Tapping Business Interruption Insurance Coverage to Assist Small Business During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Benefits and Drawbacks

Legislation has been introduced in several states that would require insurers to cover business interruption losses due to the COVID-19 outbreak. What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a law? If policymakers were to proceed with such an approach, then what design considerations should they keep in mind?

Lloyd Dixon, Bethany Saunders-Medina

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What Do You Do with a Problem Like COVID-19?

Over the last several decades, Americans' trust in their government and its institutions crumbled. Beyond that, the value of truth and expertise, the common bedrock of sound policymaking, was decaying in American society. COVID-19 might present an opportunity to correct some of these ills.

Raphael S. Cohen

blog

Hospitals' Critical Care Capacity, Unemployment Insurance, Farmworkers: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on how hospitals can increase critical care capacity, reforming the U.S. unemployment system, supporting farmworkers, and more.

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Don't Get Too Excited, 'Quad Plus' Meetings Won't Cover China

The “Quad” countries met with several non-Quad countries to help each other amid the coronavirus pandemic. For all the good that can come of these countries working together, the Quad Plus, if sustained, may eventually jeopardize the Quad's primary mission: to counter China's assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.

Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman

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It Is More Important Than Ever for Employers to Look After Staff Health and Wellbeing

COVID-19 will likely have a direct effect on the health and wellbeing of employees. While many employers responding to the COVID-19 crisis have understandably been concerned with business resilience, processes, and performance, it is important that they also continue to focus on the health and wellbeing of staff.

Christian Van Stolk

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How to Contain the Disinformation Virus

Like COVID-19, disinformation spreads only if we help it spread. While we have all been asked to stay at home as responsible citizens to contain the virus, we should also feel responsible for making it harder for disinformation to spread.

Axelle Devaux