Infrastructure

blog

Ukraine's Recovery, Mental Health First Aid, School Staffing: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the trade-offs of Ukraine's reconstruction, the effects of a Mental Health First Aid training program, school staffing challenges, and more.

commentary

Hybrid Work Is Here to Stay. It's Time for Security to Catch Up to Our New Normal

As hybrid work becomes the new normal, workplace practices—security-focused and otherwise—may need to reconsider whether physical presence necessarily improves either security or work outcomes.

Douglas Yeung @DouglasCYeung

blog

Environmental Justice, Mental Health Care, Insomnia: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on environmental justice, access to mental health care, why America should stick with Europe. and more.

commentary

A Potential Backslide in Mental Health Care for Millions of Americans

The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declaration expires shortly. When it does, it will have broad-sweeping effects, and one of the most significant is little known: It could begin undoing the expansion of mental health care access for millions of Americans.

Ryan K. McBain @ryankmcbain

commentary

Can China's Green Energy Acceleration Put at Risk the West's Hydrogen Plans?

Hydrogen (H2) plays a key role in the decarbonization plans of the European Union and the United States. Both have launched aggressive hydrogen strategies to increase the generation of H2 and deployment of related technologies. But these bold ambitions may face headwinds due to the acceleration of China's energy transition.

Ismael Arciniegas Rueda, Andrew Star, et al.

commentary

Financial Panic in the Age of Digital Banking and Social Media

Bank runs as a source of systemic risk are nothing new. To manage systemic risks in the age of social media, regulators may need to anticipate where the crisis will go and build in automatic brakes to slow them down. There likely won't be time to react at the speed of negotiation between regulators and bankers.

Jonathan W. Welburn @jwwelburn

commentary

Consequences of the War in Ukraine: The Economic Fallout

Before Russia invaded Ukraine, projections estimated global economic growth in 2022 would be around 5 percent. But the war in Ukraine contributed to slowed economic growth in 2022 and a slowed recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. What are the broader consequences for the global economy?

Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins

commentary

Puerto Rico's Food Security Must Factor in Planning Energy Security

The tragedy of disaster recovery has unlocked substantial capital for Puerto Rico to rewrite its interdependent security in energy and food. Considering food security in this context could help to ensure the population has access to both power and food.

Ismael Arciniegas Rueda, Andrew Star, et al.

commentary

RAND Experts on Veteran Mental Health Respond to the White House Mental Health Research Priorities

The White House identified eight research priorities to better manage America's current mental health crisis. RAND researchers highlight why each area is critical for veteran mental health and how RAND is contributing to address them.

Rajeev Ramchand @RRamchand, Carrie M. Farmer @carriefarmer, et al.

commentary

Ohio's Train Derailment—Not Spy Balloons—Is the Real National Security Threat

The slow degradation of infrastructure and disaster response is less a spectacle than an overflying balloon, but the train derailment and chemical spill in Ohio highlights just how bizarre such a focus on perceived external national security threats has become. The far greater threat may be from within.

Bradley Martin, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg @aclarkginsberg

commentary

Preparing for the Next India-China Border Crisis

Mounting tensions between India and China due to Chinese encroachment on their disputed border affect the United States and its Indo-Pacific strategy. Washington should assist New Delhi in deterring further Chinese attempts to nibble away at Indian territory and be ready to respond quickly in case events spiral out of control.

Lisa Curtis, Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman

q&a

Earthquake in Turkey, Syria: Insights from RAND Researchers

Thousands of people have been confirmed dead in one the strongest earthquakes to hit Turkey and Syria in the past century. As search-and-rescue missions ended and recovery began, a handful of RAND researchers shared some of their initial thoughts.

blog

The War in Ukraine, Software Supply Chain Risk, 'Hacking Equity': RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on lessons about defense strategy from the war in Ukraine, U.S.-France cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, software supply chain risk, and more.

commentary

Software Supply Chain Risk Is Growing, but Mitigation Solutions Exist

Software supply chain security has emerged as a leading risk because of the massively fragmented and decentralized nature of modern software development. While we still have much to learn as a community about this risk, there are concrete steps we can take to better understand and mitigate it.

Sasha Romanosky

blog

Regulating Space, Threats to Critical Infrastructure, Psychedelics: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the need for governance in outer space, why the recent FAA system failure was a wake-up call, the changing policy landscape around psychedelic therapies, and more.