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Philanthropic contributions support our ability to take the long view, tackle tough and often-controversial topics, and share our findings in innovative and compelling ways. RAND's research findings and recommendations are based on data and evidence, and therefore do not necessarily reflect the policy preferences or interests of its clients, donors, or supporters.
How much taxpayer money is spent on police, courts, and legal services to respond to crime? RAND researchers provide estimated costs by crime type and by state in a new tool. The tool includes a map that allows users to visualize the differences in costs across the United States. Users can download parts of the data or the full data set in a variety of formats.
Public schools that serve kindergarteners through 12th graders can play a key role in combating Truth Decay by supporting students' civic development and engagement. This Data Note examines teachers' reports regarding how they and their schools promote media literacy and appropriate use of media by students. It also summarizes teachers' perceptions of challenges associated with media literacy and use.
Public schools have the potential to exacerbate or counter Truth Decay (the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life) by supporting students' development of knowledge, skills, and dispositions related to civic education. Researchers administered a survey to public-school social studies teachers about their approaches to civic education. This report, one in a series of six, provides technical information about the survey.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has claimed many victims and is threatening to claim another one—the United States Postal Service (USPS). This report examines how Americans view the USPS and explores its role as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were collected through the RAND American Life Panel as part of an ongoing analysis of the effects of COVID-19.
To support health care resource allocation decisionmaking during the COVID-19 crisis, the authors created the Core Guidance Checklist from a discussion process with bioethicists, health system leaders, clinicians, patient advocates, and representatives of affected communities. It is intended for use by decisionmakers within health systems, as well as state-level policymakers, to improve resource allocation policy development and implementation.
Stay-at-home orders save lives, but the extent to which they threaten livelihoods depends on the nature of one's work. This report examines how much the ability to work from home has mitigated the economic effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The data were collected through the RAND American Life Panel as part of an ongoing analysis of the effects of COVID-19.
U.S. air superiority is being challenged by competitors. The authors of this report demonstrate a prototype of a proof-of-concept artificial intelligence system to help develop and evaluate new concepts of operations for the air domain. The initial findings highlight both the potential of reinforcement learning to tackle complex, collaborative air mission planning problems, and some significant challenges facing this approach.
This report describes a survey fielded through the RAND American Life Panel to assess the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on individuals and households across a variety of topics.
In this Perspective, the authors discuss the need for more sustainable and scalable ways of incentivising pharmaceutical industry innovation in response to infectious disease threats to public health. The authors discuss financial incentives and non-financial considerations, and relate the insights to the COVID-19 crisis and to the context of preventing other emerging infectious disease threats from becoming crises in the future.
With the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic causing economic dislocations worldwide, RAND researchers interviewed 21 small-business owners and found that the most common concerns focused on a need for assistance in covering fixed operating costs and on worker safety. Adjustments to existing policies were also discussed, such as clear rules for reopening businesses and coordinated reopening policies across neighboring jurisdictions.
Face recognition technologies (FRTs) have many practical security-related purposes, but advocacy groups and individuals have expressed apprehensions about their use. This report highlights the high-level privacy and bias implications of FRT systems. The authors propose a heuristic with two dimensions — consent status and comparison type — to help determine a proposed FRT's level of privacy and accuracy. They also identify privacy and bias concerns.
This report describes the Belt and Road Initiative's common criticisms, defining characteristics, and externalities, and the authors explore implications for policymakers.
The illicit antiquities market is fueled by a well-documented rise in looting at archaeological sites and a fear that the proceeds of such looting may be financing terrorism or rogue states. In this report, the authors compile evidence from numerous open sources to outline the major policy-relevant characteristics of that market and to propose the way forward for developing policies intended to disrupt illicit networks.
This report provides an initial assessment of the possible short-term economy-wide effects of social distancing. These results should be taken as rough order-of-magnitude estimates meant to help inform decisionmakers during the coronavirus disease 2019 crisis.
There is an urgent need for an assessment of public health interventions to address coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and determine when to relax them. This document describes the COVID-19 Decision Support Tool, which is designed to fill that need.
Contending with and preparing for the effects of climate change is a critical global challenge that will shape the security landscape over the next 20 years. By examining the role of collaboration in military and local government climate resilience planning, the authors find that collaboration improves collective capacity to address climate change, and their analysis provides insight into the attributes of effective joint planning.
This report, the second edition of an earlier work, synthesizes the available scientific evidence for the effects of various firearm policies on firearm deaths, violent crime, the gun industry, defensive gun use, and other outcomes. The authors highlight policies whose effects are better supported by evidence and areas where more and better information could contribute to establishing fair and effective gun policies.
Young women in Egypt face substantial inequalities in job opportunities and wages. In this report, the authors examine issues (such as childcare costs, negative attitudes, and sexual harassment) that constrain women's employment and could hinder improvement of Egypt's economic outlook. The authors also consider initiatives that are underway to address these challenges and present policy considerations to build on these efforts.
Growing concern that U.S. power has been declining renews long-standing questions about how we should measure national power, which nations have the most, which states are gaining and losing power, and when such shifts might portend conflict. The authors illustrate a quantitative, scenario-based approach for policymakers, assess the impact of shocks on the balance of power, and identify periods when shifts in the balance could portend conflict.
The author of this Perspective argues that the United States should make a full and enduring commitment to Iraq by providing robust, long-term assistance to the Iraqi Army, and should do so in 2020, before fleeting opportunities are lost.
The authors of this report explore the risks posed by the development of quantum computers able to crack digital encryption by assessing how quickly quantum computers are likely to be developed, how quickly postquantum cryptography (PQC) that can withstand attacks is likely to be standardized, and how quickly and widely PQC will be adopted. The analysis concludes that the threat to the communications infrastructure is urgent but manageable.
In this report, the authors present strategies for creating critical care surge capacity and estimate the number of patients accommodated, given the number of available critical care doctors and nurses, respiratory therapists, ventilators, and hospital beds. They also document the development of a user-friendly tool that allows decisionmakers to estimate current critical care capacity and rapidly explore strategies for increasing it.
A Microsoft Excel–based tool that allows decisionmakers at all levels — hospitals, health care systems, states, regions — responding to the COVID-19 crisis to estimate current critical care capacity and rapidly explore strategies for increasing it.
The unclassified networks of defense industrial base firms have become an attractive entrance for adversaries seeking access to cutting-edge technologies and research and development efforts. This report describes a way for the U.S. Department of Defense to better secure such networks through the establishment of a cybersecurity program designed to strengthen their protections.
There is interest among U.S. policymakers in using out-of-network payment limits to control rising health care spending. RAND researchers estimated the effects that four proposed out-of-network payment limits for hospital care—125 percent of Medicare payments, 200 percent of Medicare payments, state average payment by private plans, and 80 percent of billed charges—would have on negotiated in-network prices and total payments for hospital care.
