2021

Logistics Management
commentary
Keep the Vaccine Moving to Save the Most Lives
Carter C. Price @CarterCPrice, John F. Raffensperger
Jan 19, 2021
The RAND Blog
The United States is waiting to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and millions of doses wait for arms. Policymakers at the national, state, and local levels have been stockpiling the shots for many reasons. While supply ramps up and many people wait for a vaccine, policymakers could push to deliver vaccine to people instead of freezers.
Read More »

Vaccination
commentary
Getting COVID-19 Vaccines to Pennsylvania Residents
Adam C. Resnick
Jan 19, 2021
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pennsylvania state and county health departments have a number of options that could speed the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to make sure Pennsylvania residents at high risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes are vaccinated as soon as possible.
Read More »
Politics and Government
commentary
For Joe Biden, an Experienced Foreign Policy Team
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Jan 19, 2021
The Hill
As President-elect Biden fills out his foreign policy team he might wish to reach out to a few foreign affairs professionals who sat out the Trump administration in order to fill positions in fields where some degree of bipartisanship remains a possibility. These areas might include relations with allies and with the two major U.S. competitors, Russia and China.
Read More »
Security Cooperation
commentary
How Joe Biden Can Galvanize Space Diplomacy
Stephen J. Flanagan, Bruce McClintock @BHMcClintock
Jan 15, 2021
Politico
The potential for conflicts to originate in outer space, or for terrestrial conflicts to extend there, has grown with the development of counterspace weapons and the explosion of commercial space activity. But previous efforts to establish norms have had limited results. The Biden administration has an opportunity, working with like-minded allies and partners, to galvanize nascent international efforts.
Read More »
Work-Family Conflicts
commentary
Supporting Working Parents Could Accelerate Recovery
Melanie A. Zaber, Kathryn A. Edwards @keds_economist
Jan 15, 2021
The RAND Blog
Since the COVID-19 recession started last February, almost 3 million women have left the labor force. With vaccines rolling out, will they go back to work? There are several policies that could help.
Read More »
Domestic Terrorism
blog
Political Violence, COVID-19 Vaccine Questions, Mental Health Care: RAND Weekly Recap
Jan 15, 2021
This weekly recap focuses on why we need to brace for more political violence after the Capitol attack, COVID-19 vaccine questions and answers, how to reform the U.S. mental health system, and more.
Read More »
Base Realignment and Closure
commentary
Why Overseas Military Bases Continue to Make Sense for the United States
Raphael S. Cohen
Jan 14, 2021
War on the Rocks
Voices on the left and right have proposed downsizing America's overseas military footprint. While the merits of basing in a particular location should be open to debate, the underlying twin logics of deterrence and reassurance behind permanently stationing American forces overseas remain operationally, economically, and strategically as sound as ever.
Read More »
Communities
commentary
COVID-19 Has Offered Opportunities for Communities to Come Together
Katherine Grace Carman @KGCarman, Tamara Dubowitz @TamaraDubowitz, Christopher Nelson
Jan 13, 2021
The RAND Blog
The past year has been among the most turbulent in recent memory. Might recent crises provide a catalyst for a renewed sense of civic engagement that transcends some of the race and class divisions COVID-19 has exacerbated?
Read More »
Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy
commentary
Now Could Be the Time to Form Policy for Emerging Brain- and Body-Enhancement Technologies
Mary Lee, Timothy Marler, Anika Binnendijk
Jan 12, 2021
RealClearDefense
Policymakers might consider developing appropriate policy frameworks for emerging brain- and body-enhancement technologies to ensure that innovations harnessed for societal, economic, or military benefits do not create new vulnerabilities and that governments adequately defend and manage against potential attacks. The technology is quickly moving forward. Policy may need to play catch-up.
Read More »
Public Health Preparedness
commentary
COVID-19 Options for 2021
Rafiq Dossani
Jan 12, 2021
The RAND Blog
The disorganized public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States helped ensure that the nation led the world in infections nearly from the beginning of the pandemic. With vaccines now becoming available, are we over the problem? Not necessarily.
Read More »
Community-Based Participatory Research
commentary
Local Communities Need a Voice in How to 'Build Back Better'
Max Izenberg, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg @aclarkginsberg
Jan 12, 2021
The RAND Blog
Long before it was popularized and made its way into political slogans and economic recovery battle cries, the phrase “building back better” was a central tenet of disaster recovery and community resilience. How should community voices be incorporated into “building back better” processes?
Read More »
Security Cooperation
commentary
Biden Will Inherit Healthy Indo-Pacific Alliances
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman
Jan 11, 2021
Nikkei Asia
Certainly there is much work ahead as the United States embarks on the next chapter of competition against China throughout the Indo-Pacific. But U.S. alliances and partnerships are in good shape—the result of a growing Indo-Pacific consensus on the existential economic and security threat China poses.
Read More »
Disaster Recovery Operations
commentary
Previous Disasters Provide Important Lessons for Central America's Recovery from Hurricanes
Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson, Ismael Arciniegas Rueda, David G. Groves
Jan 11, 2021
The National Interest
As the global community works together to assist Central America in recovering from the disastrous 2020 hurricane season, experiences from other recent disaster recovery efforts offer some helpful lessons, both for the governments of the region as well as outsiders providing resources and support.
Read More »
Vaccination
blog
As the Vaccines Arrive, So Do the Questions
Jan 11, 2021
The RAND Blog
As the first COVID-19 vaccines are being administered across the United States, countless questions have arisen about what comes next. Is one vaccine better than another? Can the United States both speed up inoculation and overcome some people's hesitance to get the shot? RAND experts offer insights into the historic vaccine rollout.
Read More »
Domestic Terrorism
commentary
The Battle of Capitol Hill
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Jan 11, 2021
The Hill
The deadly mob assault on the U.S. Capitol Building was a predictable possibility. Democracy held, but security failed, spectacularly. We need to be better prepared for future acts of political violence.
Read More »
Domestic Terrorism
blog
A Message from Our President, Medical Mistrust, Insulin Prices: RAND Weekly Recap
Jan 8, 2021
This weekly recap focuses on Wednesday’s siege on the U.S. Capitol, Americans' psychological distress, medical mistrust and COVID-19 vaccines, and more.
Read More »
Health Information Privacy
essay
Are We Ready for the Internet of Bodies?
Jan 8, 2021
Any device can be hacked, including one inside the human body. We need to think through the privacy and security implications of devices that live with us. But we should also consider the life-changing, life-saving potential of technologies that know us inside and out.
Read More »
Employment and Unemployment
commentary
A Bell That Can't Be Unrung: The CARES Act and Unemployment Insurance
Kathryn A. Edwards @keds_economist
Jan 7, 2021
The RAND Blog
The CARES Act was a bell that can't be unrung, broadcasting to everyone that Unemployment Insurance can do better by workers and employers. Congress can debate the hows of permanent reform, but its actions in 2020 proved the need.
Read More »
Telemedicine
commentary
Patients Log On to See Their Own Doctors During the Pandemic
Shira H. Fischer @ShiraFischer, Joshua Breslau @JoshuaBreslau
Jan 7, 2021
The RAND Blog
Telehealth use has skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Can this form of high-quality, low-cost care be maintained over the long term? As discussion of post-pandemic policies begins, lessons from patients' use of telehealth will provide valuable guidance.
Read More »
Health Care Costs
essay
The Astronomical Price of Insulin Hurts American Families
Jan 6, 2021
More than 30 million Americans have diabetes, and nearly a quarter of them use insulin to manage their symptoms and prevent life-threatening complications. The price they have to pay for insulin is more than ten times higher than the average prices in 32 other countries combined.
Read More »
Employment and Unemployment
commentary
Unemployment Insurance and the Failure to Reform
Kathryn A. Edwards @keds_economist
Jan 5, 2021
The RAND Blog
Unemployment Insurance, despite being the primary U.S. policy tool for sustaining workers during periods of high unemployment, has a history of being repeatedly neglected. Federal reform has been stalled for nearly 50 years—about as long as problems in the program have been evident.
Read More »
Vietnam
commentary
What Does Vietnam Want from the United States in the South China Sea?
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman
Jan 4, 2021
The Diplomat
Over the last few years, tensions between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea have remained high. While the Biden administration is likely to continue positive momentum in bilateral ties, it is less clear what specifically Hanoi seeks from Washington to help it effectively deter Beijing.
Read More »