March 2013

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High-Quality Early Childhood Programs Require High-Quality Teachers

High-quality early childhood interventions can improve academic achievement, reduce crime and delinquency, and enhance future labor market success. But the operative word is "high-quality." And for early childhood programs to be high-quality, they must have qualified instructors.

Brian M. Stecher

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RAND Contributes to Foreign Policy Survey on the Future of Global Conflict

For its recent feature “The Future of War,” Foreign Policy magazine surveyed 71 leading authorities on today’s global conflicts – including many current and former analysts from the RAND Corporation – and used their responses to rank future security threats.

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Satellite Collision Is a Reminder of Challenges Posed by Space Debris

This isn't going to be an easy problem to solve because, like spilled petroleum products, debris can spend years lurking in an environment that is foreign to most people's daily lives, write Dave Baiocchi and William Welser.

Dave Baiocchi, William Welser IV

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Unlearning the Lessons of Iraq

Trepidation about boots-on-the-ground engagement has unnecessarily forestalled even small-scale efforts to repair Libya's fractured security environment....Meanwhile, in Syria, the over-learned lessons of Iraq are taking an even more serious toll, writes Christopher Chivvis.

Christopher S. Chivvis

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Learning Curve

The post-Vietnam “never again” attitude led to a severe atrophy of the U.S. military's counterinsurgency skills and it is quite possible that the U.S. military will go through a similar phase of unlearning over the next several years, writes James Dobbins.

James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins

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When CPR Is the Wrong Call: Mistaking Medical Treatment for Care

If a medical treatment worked only a fraction of the time and resulted in bad outcomes more often than not, practitioners would not make this treatment the default approach. Yet that is exactly what has happened when it comes to CPR for individuals 85 years and older who suffer cardiac arrest in a community setting.

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Innovating Out of a Crisis: How Research and Innovation Are Key to Europe's Future

Are research and innovation the way out of Europe's current woes? And is the way to administer and fund research and innovation working? Jonathan Grant and Rebecca Schindler suggest more could be done.

Jonathan Grant, Helen Rebecca Schindler

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Ruling Can Lead to Tougher New York Soda Ban

New York should see the judge's ruling as an opportunity to revise the law to close the loopholes, including the Big Gulp exemption, and develop regulations in line with the scientific consensus that even 16 ounces is way too much, writes Deborah Cohen.

Deborah A. Cohen

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China's Defense Spending Mystery

China's decision to expand defense spending also carries clues about the Party's need to keep the military happy, the new leadership's confidence and new President Xi Jinping's ability to put his own stamp on policy from the start, writes Scott Harold.

Scott W. Harold

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Tuberculosis Outbreak in LA Reminds Us of Importance of 'Bread and Butter' Public Health Capabilities

In this fiscally uncertain climate, we should continue to leverage the dual-use benefit of bioterrorism investments by building and maintaining those routine (but essential) public health capabilities that can also be used in response to a variety of public health emergencies.

Shoshana R. Shelton

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The SSDI Program's Impact on Human Capital

The combined effects of having potentially employable individuals receive SSDI benefits, and the loss of skills among those who are denied benefits, are significant, write Nicole Maestas and Kathleen Mullen.

Nicole Maestas, Kathleen J. Mullen

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Does U.S. Gas Tax Still Make Sense?

It's time to consider changing the country's transportation funding scheme from one based on gallons purchased to one based on vehicle miles actually traveled, writes Liisa Ecola.

Liisa Ecola

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Iran's Elections to End All Elections

The June election will not be about mobilizing the Iranian public. It is instead the culmination of a years-long evolution in Iranian politics: the transformation of the Islamic Republic from a mildly representative theocracy into a Revolutionary Guards-controlled kleptocracy, writes Alireza Nader.

Alireza Nader

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A National Strategy for Supporting Military Caregivers

The act of caring for a veteran takes a physical, mental, and economic toll on caregivers and their families. Giving caregivers the skills and resources they need to cope and thrive should be as much a priority as giving veterans medical care.

Terri Tanielian, Rajeev Ramchand @RRamchand

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Tax the Nonprofits

Charles Wolf asks: Can the NPO sector contribute to easing the U.S. fiscal imbalance, while helping rather than hindering the dynamic free enterprise system, and retaining societal benefits provided by nonprofits?

Charles Wolf, Jr.