2011

Public Health Preparedness

commentary
Heed Film Lessons on Outbreak
To assure the health security of the United States, we must be capable of stopping anything a terrorist or Mother Nature might throw at us. Wholesale cuts to public health are taking us farther from that goal, write Art Kellermann and Melinda Moore.
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Dec 29, 2011
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Arthur L. Kellermann, Melinda Moore

Global Security

commentary
North Korea: Uncertain and Dangerous Times Ahead
With his father's support over the last year, Kim Jong-Un has tried to rapidly reshape the North Korean leadership structure, giving him many new subordinates who are untried and lacking experience. Some will clearly make mistakes, writes Bruce Bennett.
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Dec 21, 2011
The RAND Blog
Bruce W. Bennett @bwbennett
Nation Building

commentary
The Year of the Arab Spring
The Arab Spring demonstrated that leaderless revolutions are difficult to repress or co-opt. Unfortunately, it is also true that leaderless revolts find it difficult to make transition to authority, writes Charles Ries.
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Dec 20, 2011
GlobalSecurity.org and The RAND Blog
Charles P. Ries @charles_ries
Veterans Health Care

commentary
Bridging the Gaps in Treating Veterans with Post-Deployment Mental Health Problems
Delivery of evidence-based care to all veterans with PTSD or depression would pay for itself—or even save money—within two years by improving productivity and reducing medical and mortality costs, writes Terri Tanielian.
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Dec 5, 2011
AcademyHealth
Terri Tanielian
Nuclear Deterrence

commentary
Dissuading Iran from the Bomb and Avoiding War
By refusing to face more squarely the probability that Iran will eventually acquire a nuclear weapons capability, the American and Israeli governments actually reduce their ability to dissuade Iran from crossing that threshold, writes James Dobbins.
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Dec 2, 2011
Public Service Europe
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Economic Development

commentary
Research Funding and Economic Growth
Publicly funded R&D investment is a coherent policy to support long term economic growth. Our only note of caution is about how far and how fast that growth can be delivered because the evidence we have is out of date and skewed towards the experience of just one country, write Jonathan Grant and Jon Sussex.
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Nov 29, 2011
Research Fortnight
Jonathan Grant, Jon Sussex
Health Care Price Competition

commentary
Provider Consolidation Key Factor in Affordable Coverage
Hospitals operating with little competition are able to charge health plans much higher prices, which are passed on to consumers in the form of higher insurance premiums, writes Glenn Melnick.
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Nov 28, 2011
California Healthline
Glenn Melnick
Military Budgets and Defense Spending

commentary
History Shows Danger of Arbitrary Defense Cuts
As America embarks on a tough strategic journey in the aftermath of Iraq, and contends with an ailing economy, it is wise to be mindful of the difference between hope and fact, writes Paula G. Thornhill.
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Nov 23, 2011
CNN
Paula G. Thornhill
Law Enforcement

commentary
Save Money Hire Police
The high cost of crime to society suggests that adding police officers may give large cities a sizable return on their investments, write Greg Ridgeway and Paul Heaton.
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Nov 22, 2011
Los Angeles Times
Greg Ridgeway, Paul Heaton
Nuclear Disarmament

commentary
An Attack Would Only Strengthen Iran's Influence
Reaction to a strike against Iran among neighboring populations would be almost uniformly hostile. The sympathy thereby aroused for Iran would make containment of Iranian influence much more difficult for Israel, for the U.S., and for the Arab regimes currently allied with Washington, writes James Dobbins.
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Nov 16, 2011
U.S. News & World Report, Debate Club
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Cost-Effectiveness in Health Care

commentary
Can the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Become Relevant to Controlling Medical Costs and Improving Value?
A scientific and political case could be made to amend health care legislation to require that cost be included in the studies that the PCORI funds, writes Robert H. Brook.
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Nov 9, 2011
The Journal of the American Medical Association
Robert H. Brook
Economic Policy

commentary
Where Keynes Went Wrong
Failure to consider the potentially adverse effect of government spending on the preexisting level of aggregate demand was and remains a disabling flaw in Keynesian theory—then and now, writes Charles Wolf, Jr.
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Nov 7, 2011
CBSNews.com on October 31, 2011 and in The Weekly Standard
Charles Wolf, Jr.
Counterterrorism

commentary
Why the Haqqani Network Is the Wrong Target
In focusing on the Haqqani network—which enjoys little popular support in Afghanistan—the United States is neglecting the more important (and difficult) task of dealing with the Taliban sanctuary in Pakistan's Baluchistan Province, writes Seth G. Jones.
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Nov 6, 2011
Foreign Affairs
Seth G. Jones
Demographics

commentary
Seven Billion? No Need to Panic
We cannot wish away serious ecological issues, such as the steady increase in greenhouse gases or the steady decrease in critical resources (e.g., phosphates). But population growth per se need not portend ecological catastrophe, writes Martin Libicki.
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Nov 4, 2011
CNN
Martin C. Libicki
Nation Building

commentary
An Open Door in Libya
The days and weeks after a victory like this are a golden hour that set in motion either a virtuous cycle of increasing security and economic growth, or a downward spiral into insecurity, factionalism and economic chaos, write Christopher S. Chivvis and Frederic Wehrey.
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Oct 20, 2011
CNN
Christopher S. Chivvis, Frederic Wehrey
Health Equity

commentary
Ensuring the ACA Helps Reduce Disparities Not Exacerbate Them
Evidence from past efforts in the U.S. and abroad suggests that the full potential of health reform will not be realized without specific efforts to reduce disparities, write Robin M. Weinick, Malcom V. Williams, and Romana Hasnain-Wynia.
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Oct 14, 2011
Advancing Health Equity
Robin M. Weinick, Malcolm V. Williams, et al.