The RAND Blog

Postsecondary Education
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Pardee RAND Reimagines the Future of Public Policy Problem Solving
Susan L. Marquis @susanlmarquis
Jan 7, 2019
The Pardee RAND Graduate School is taking a new approach to public policy education. Three new streams of study and action will better align with today's policy needs. Faculty and students will shift the focus from coming up with solutions to actually implementing them.
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Community-Based Health Care
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Faith-Based Organizations Promote Well-Being in Underserved Communities
Jan 4, 2019
Kathryn Derose, a senior policy researcher and an Episcopal deacon, works with Latino and African-American churches to address health issues in their communities. Her research has shown the power of the pulpit to fight health disparities, counter stigma, and encourage healthy living.
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Veterans Health Care
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How Private Health Care Providers Could Better Serve Veterans
Nov 7, 2018
Almost a third of U.S. veterans live 40 miles or more from the nearest VA medical center, so the VA is trying to make it easier for them to use private providers closer to home. But it will take significant efforts to better prepare civilian doctors to deliver high-quality care to veterans.
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Enlisted Personnel
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An Inside Look at Life in the Army's Junior Ranks
Oct 31, 2018
History records the names of generals, not of the privates filling out supply forms, cleaning out trucks, or huffing through another training exercise. But those privates keep the U.S. Army running. RAND research provides their unfiltered take on life in the ranks.
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Occupational Training
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Appalachia Partnership Helps Both Workers and Employers in a Changing Market
Aug 30, 2018
An innovative program in Appalachia is realigning the skills of the workforce with the needs of employers, getting people back on the job and providing a 21st-century model of workforce development.
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Social and Emotional Learning
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Social and Emotional Learning Prepares Students for Life
Aug 27, 2018
The goal of social and emotional learning is to give students the skills they need to work in teams, communicate their ideas, and manage their emotions. Research can help educators determine which programs work and which ones qualify for federal funding under the Every Student Succeeds Act.
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Gun Violence
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More Research Could Help Prevent Gun Violence in America
Jul 10, 2018
Both sides of the gun policy debate agree on what the objectives of any policy should be. But they disagree over which policies would best achieve those goals. Current evidence for or against most gun proposals is weak, contradictory, or nonexistent. Only research can show what does—and doesn't—work.
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Homelessness
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Supportive Housing Reduces Homelessness—and Lowers Health Care Costs by Millions
Jun 27, 2018
Los Angeles County has moved some of its most chronically homeless and vulnerable residents into permanent housing. Providing them with social services and health care has dramatically reduced their use of emergency rooms and other services, saving taxpayers millions of dollars.
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Communication Technology
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70 Years of Innovation at RAND
May 9, 2018
Seventy years ago, a group of researchers established the independent RAND Corporation. From the first satellite design, to helping ensure GPS as a public good, to laying the groundwork for the internet, RAND has been making a difference ever since.
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Foster Care
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How the Child-Welfare System Could Protect More Kids and Save Billions of Dollars
Apr 25, 2018
It costs billions of dollars each year to investigate child abuse reports, counsel and support families, and provide foster homes for kids at risk. A greater focus on preventing abuse and neglect, and on placing children with relatives rather than strangers, could improve thousands of young lives.
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Retirement and Retirement Benefits
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Why Unretirement Is Working for Older Americans
Mar 6, 2018
Significant numbers of older Americans move in and out of the workforce. One in five workers today is 55 or older. By 2024, that number will be one in four. Older workers report having more meaningful work and more workplace flexibility than their younger peers.
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The Islamic State (Terrorist Organization)
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What Life Under ISIS Looked Like from Space
Jan 9, 2018
Satellite images show how ISIS attempted to govern in Iraq and Syria, the economic damage the group left behind, and what it will take to rebuild.
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Childhood Development
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High-Quality Early Childhood Programs Can Change Lives
Jan 3, 2018
The most comprehensive look to date at the benefits of early childhood education found that 102 of 115 programs improved at least one outcome for children beyond a statistical doubt. And the economic and social benefits continue to pay dividends, sometimes well into adulthood.
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Caregivers
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Military Caregivers Share the Costs of War
Oct 30, 2017
Millions of veterans and service members receive care from family and friends who need support as well. Military caregivers sacrifice their time, their jobs, and even their health to provide a service worth billions of dollars to the United States.
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Databases and Data Collection, Analysis, and Processing
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Big Data, Big Questions
Oct 16, 2017
RAND-Lex is a computer program that can scan millions of lines of text and identify what people are talking about, how they fit into communities, and how they see the world. The program has shed light on how terrorists communicate, how the American public thinks about health, and more.
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Workforce Development
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What Happens When RAND Rethinks Its Workspace
Sep 5, 2017
In an economy that increasingly values ideas over tasks, companies are breaking down office walls, scrapping the idea of a nine-to-five, and doing away with cubicles. A RAND project shows how a modern workspace can be conducive to both collaboration and individual work.
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North Korea
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Understanding North Korea
Aug 18, 2017
How should the United States respond to North Korea's provocative behavior? Even the best military options could be cataclysmically bad, but there are nonmilitary options to convince Kim Jong Un that the costs of his provocations outweigh any benefits.
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Chronic Diseases and Conditions
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Chronic Conditions in America: Price and Prevalence
Jul 12, 2017
Sixty percent of U.S. adults have at least one chronic condition, and 12 percent have five or more. They account for hundreds of billions of dollars in health care spending every year.
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Security Cooperation
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Are America's Overseas Security Commitments Worth It?
Jul 7, 2017
A growing debate has called into question U.S. international security commitments and whether their economic value outweighs their costs. Research suggests that the magnitude of the benefits could be substantial.
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Suicide
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Is Suicide Preventable? Insights from Research
May 8, 2017
Conventional wisdom about suicide prevention suggests that one just needs to know what warning signs to look for. But that's not the case.
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Migrants
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Migrant Crisis in the Mediterranean: What You Need to Know
May 2, 2017
The countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea are facing unprecedented stress. A former lieutenant with the Italian Navy is now a RAND researcher, working to help others appreciate the scope of the crisis.
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Sleep
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The Costs of Poor Sleep Are Staggering
Mar 1, 2017
Research shows that a little more sleep could help America's families, military, and economy.
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Public Health
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What Are the Social Determinants of Health?
Feb 24, 2017
Health care alone can only go so far to promote health. Evidence suggests that where and how people live plays at least as big a role in how well and how long they live.
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Uganda
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Improving HIV and Mental Health Care in Uganda
Jan 5, 2017
A small team of RAND researchers has spent years working with local clinics in Uganda to help people not just survive HIV, but learn to live with it, and even thrive.
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Developing Countries
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The Hot Spots of the World
Oct 13, 2016
Scarcity of food, energy, and water endangers the lives of millions. So RAND created a tool with the potential to help make aid initiatives more effective.
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United States
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Election 2016: The International Issues
Oct 7, 2016
America's next president will face challenges that test the fundamentals of world order. RAND experts have outlined key decisions, the dangers involved, and the least-bad options that now often pass for good ones.
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United States
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Election 2016: The Domestic Issues
Oct 3, 2016
RAND offers a unique take on the big domestic issues facing America: research that is independent, reliable, and rigorously nonpartisan.
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Academic Achievement
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Personalized Learning: The Latest Buzz in Classroom Instruction
Aug 22, 2016
Students in personalized learning classrooms made greater gains in math and reading than their peers in other schools. But there are barriers to fully personalized learning, including rigid state standards and time demands on teachers.
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Military Personnel
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Transgender Troops: Fit to Serve
Aug 18, 2016
The Pentagon's decision to open the ranks to transgender service members was informed by months of RAND research into the costs and numbers involved.
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Cybercrime
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The Digital Underworld: What You Need to Know
Jun 24, 2016
A growing threat is emanating from a digital underworld where hackers sell their services like mercenaries and credit-card numbers can be had for pennies on the dollar.
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Military Families
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The Resilience of Military Families
Jun 16, 2016
Deployment of a spouse and parent can shake a military family to its core. But according to RAND research, these families display remarkable resilience.
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Democracy
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Taking the American Pulse This Election Season
May 4, 2016
For the past decade, a unique RAND survey has asked Americans how they feel about the economic crisis, health care reform, and more. Now, it's focused on the 2016 presidential election.
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Integrative Medicine
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Science and the Healing Arts
Apr 29, 2016
Americans spend billions of dollars out of pocket seeking relief from chronic conditions in alternative schools of health, such as acupuncture or chiropractic. What would it take to more fully integrate such practices into the mainstream?
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Health and Wellness Promotion
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A Chance to Thrive: What We Can Learn from One City's Effort to Transform Community
Mar 8, 2016
RAND researchers have partnered with the city of Santa Monica, California to redefine not just how cities measure success, but how they assess their very purpose for being.
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Adolescent Health
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Fake Convenience Store, Real Implications for Youth Smoking
Mar 3, 2016
In a simulated convenience store, hiding the can't-miss display of tobacco products behind the cashier decreased kids' intention to smoke in the future.
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Neighborhood Influences on Health
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The Surprising Ways That a Supermarket Changed a Food Desert
Feb 24, 2016
The arrival of a new grocery store in a 'food desert' neighborhood delivered some obvious health benefits. But the benefits had nothing to do with whether the residents shopped there.
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Emerging Technologies
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How Will Technology Change Criminal Justice?
Jan 7, 2016
In perhaps no other field does society have as direct a stake in getting technology right as in policing. How will technology change the work that law enforcement agencies do and the communities they serve?
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Prisoner Reentry
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The Case for Correctional Education in U.S. Prisons
Jan 3, 2016
Inmates who participate in any kind of educational program behind bars are up to 43 percent less likely to reoffend and return to prison. They also appear to be far more likely to find a job after their release.
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Veterans Employment
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Warriors in the Civilian Workforce: Helping Veterans Transition
Oct 28, 2015
Americans who served during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq continue to face higher jobless rates than nonveterans. A growing body of RAND research has sought to identify what can help get more of them back on the job.
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Substance Abuse
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Opioid Rising: How to Stop the World's Growing Heroin Crisis
Oct 20, 2015
RAND research offers strategies to save thousands of lives around the world from opioids, such as heroin and prescription painkillers.
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United States
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Interdependence Day: Contending with a New Global Order
Aug 21, 2015
A team of RAND experts took a sober look at the threats facing the United States and developed a playbook of strategies to address them.
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Alzheimer's Disease and Dementias
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Struggling with Dementia
Aug 10, 2015
The costs of dementia are staggering. A recent RAND analysis quantifies the scope of the problem in the United States and serves as a wake-up call to policymakers everywhere.
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Diet and Eating Habits
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Putting Health to the (Taste) Test
Jul 1, 2015
Researchers teamed up with a dozen Los Angeles lunch trucks to test healthier menu items—chicken breasts and grilled fish alongside the usual tacos and hamburgers.
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Low-Intensity Conflict
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The Price of Peace
Jun 24, 2015
Groundbreaking analysis by a team of RAND economists and policy experts reveals how much Israelis and Palestinians stand to lose from the enduring conflict, and how much they could gain in peace.
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Iran
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Nuclear Negotiations with Iran: Looking Ahead
May 4, 2015
As world leaders work to piece together a nuclear deal with Iran, RAND experts asked, What would change on the day after a final deal? Their analysis helps clarify what a nuclear deal would mean for the United States, the region, and the world.
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Energy Consumption
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Power to the People: How Smart Grids Can Change the Way We Live
Apr 27, 2015
A modernized, 'smart' grid could change how much you pay for electricity, where it comes from, and how likely you are to lose it in a summer storm. But has the reality of the smart grid kept pace with the promise?
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Infectious Diseases
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The New Drug Wars
Mar 3, 2015
Modern medicine is built on the promise that antibiotics will clear away the bacteria that made everything from skin infections to surgery potentially lethal just a few generations ago. But drug-resistant strains of disease have spread in recent years.
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Domestic Terrorism
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Enemies Among Us: What We Know About Homegrown Terrorists
Feb 26, 2015
Dozens of young Americans have attempted to join overseas jihadist groups in the past several years, raising special concern among counterterrorism officials that they might bring the fight home with them when they return.
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Educational Technology
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Tech for Tots
Jan 20, 2015
When it comes to youngsters and technology use, how much is too much? How young is too young? RAND is on the case, to help prepare children for success in school and life.
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Autonomous Vehicles
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The Dream Drive
Jan 14, 2015
Autonomous vehicle technology is already here: Cars park themselves, alert drivers to impending dangers, and even apply the brakes in emergencies. But what will it take to unlock its potential for major societal benefits?
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