Finance

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The Growing Green Bond Market Could Plateau. How Can It Grow Further?

If green bonds are a viable tool to reduce emissions and adapt infrastructure to the effects of climate change, how can governments encourage the issuance, sales, and growth in the share of green bonds in the total bond market?

David Catt, Nihar Chhatiawala, et al.

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Green Bonds Can Leave Issuers in the Red

To achieve the Biden administration's blueprint for solar energy and focus on climate change mitigation and adaptation, green bonds may be worth considering. But, like any other financing instrument, they may be best considered through a cost-benefit lens.

Brian Wong, Ismael Arciniegas Rueda

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Protecting the Elderly from Financial Exploitation

Older adults are more vulnerable to scams and more likely to have money and assets than their younger counterparts of the same race/ethnicity. Policy solutions that provide protection against financial fraud could help older adults to live more financially stable lives.

Katherine Grace Carman @KGCarman, Sierra Smucker

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Renters' Last Chance for Pandemic Aid Before Evictions Resume

The pandemic has battered Los Angeles renters, and a new wave of pain is coming with the moratorium on evictions ending September 30. But this housing crisis doesn't have to turn into a new homelessness crisis. Californians with incomes below 80 percent of their area's median are eligible to receive funds from the COVID-19 Rent Relief program.

George Zuo

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When a Free Trial Is Anything But

Several strategies could help protect consumers from subscription traps. Strategies could include providing better information showing that a free trial is followed by a subscription, reminding consumers that they have a subscription, and allowing consumers to easily cancel.

Katherine Grace Carman @KGCarman

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Cryptocurrency Should Be Added to the U.S.-Japan Trade Deal

As the Biden administration begins to define its approach to international trade, and the Suga administration looks to further tighten cooperation with the United States, it may be worth reconsidering the exclusion of cryptocurrency from the U.S.-Japan trade deal. Substantial economic equities are at stake for both sides.

Sale Lilly @SaleLilly, Scott W. Harold

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Fintech's Role in Reducing Disparities and Financial Barriers to Health Care Access

Given the growing pressures on health care systems globally and the need for innovative approaches to financing health care, the time may be ripe to develop a robust evidence base and share learning on fintech-enabled approaches that could support universal health coverage agendas and healthier and more stable societies.

Sam Alom, Sonja Marjanovic @SonjaCambs

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RAND Art + Data, 'Gray Market Care,' Supply Chains and Cyberattacks: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on RAND's new artist residency program, Art + Data; the prevalence of "gray market care" in the United States; supply chains' cyber problem; and more.

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Americans' Financial Struggles, COVID-19 Vaccinations, Virtual Schools: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on Americans' ongoing financial struggles, how we can learn from the first phase of COVID-19 vaccinations, why virtual schools may be here to stay, and more.

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Your Personal Information Could End Up in the Hands of Foreign Investors

If you've ever rented a property, you may have wondered what happens to the sensitive information on your application. Recent concerns over the foreign harvesting of personal information for questionable purposes should worry everyone.

Marcus Dillistone, Ryan Andrew Brown, et al.

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Too Interconnected to Fail

The 2007–08 financial crisis made regulators and lawmakers acutely aware that some financial institutions had become too big to fail. The next big economic crisis may arise outside the financial sector, in highly networked companies that are too interconnected to fail.

Jonathan W. Welburn @jwwelburn, Aaron Strong @resourceecon

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What to Watch to Understand the Sino-Iranian Relationship

Beijing and Tehran are in the process of finalizing an ambitious partnership covering a range of security and economic issues. The United States should not overreact to shifting geopolitical dynamics in the Middle East, and should instead keep an eye out to assess the evolution of the relationship and take stock of what is delivered instead of what is merely promised.

Colin P. Clarke, Mollie Saltskog

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A Tale of Two Americas

Economic pain in the United States is obvious and palpable everywhere except in the stock market. This spotlights inequality that has been increasing for decades. Undoing disparities will require firm policy commitment over many years.

Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_

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From Lockdown to Locked Out: Coronavirus and the Looming Crisis in Rental Housing

Housing security is vital to individual and collective well-being. It's also a key component in the nation's economic performance. The looming coronavirus eviction crisis suggests the need to address the systemic problem of housing affordability and security now.

Alina I. Palimaru, Jason M. Ward @jason_m_ward, et al.

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The Second Wave of COVID Consequences

Economists closely watch measures of consumer confidence because they are highly predictive economic indicators. New consumer data reveals likely long-term and prolonged economic fallout.

Kathryn A. Edwards @keds_economist, Jeffrey B. Wenger