News Archive - Latin America and Africa in the News

RAND researchers often write commentaries for publications on a variety of topics. This page lists commentaries and op-eds about or related to Latin America and Africa. For a complete list of commentaries and op-eds by RAND staff, visit the RAND Newsroom.

Libya's Post-Qaddafi Transition: The Nation-Building Challenge
Oct 29, 2012

Despite its role in helping topple Qaddafi, NATO is absent from Libya today. A year after Qaddafi's death, the light-footprint approach adopted for Libya's postwar transition is facing its most serious test.
The Challenges of Libya's Post-Qadhafi Transition
Oct 25, 2012

Libya should remain in charge of its own post-conflict path, but it needs the help of external actors to succeed with its transition, writes Christopher Chivvis.
In Press at Journal of Health Economics: Price Elasticity of Expenditure Across Health Care Services
Oct 24, 2012

As policymakers worldwide debate ways to reform health care to reduce expenditures, estimates of price elasticity of expenditure are a key component for predicting expenditures under alternative policies. Using data from the Chilean private health insurance market, elasticity of expenditures was estimated across a variety of health care services. A wide range of elasticities were found for services in the number of and intensities of visits; additionally, high-income individuals were found to be five times more price sensitive than low-income individuals, and older individuals to be less price-sensitive than the young.
In Press at Journal of Health Economics: What is the Price of Prevention?
Oct 24, 2012

Testing for disease allows one to improve prognosis through early detection; however, if the potential cost of treatment is unaffordable, there is no incentive for screening. A randomized field experiment in Nigeria offered cervical cancer screening to women at randomly chosen prices, and also offered a lottery where the payoff was a subsidy towards the cost of treatment. The group offered the lottery were 4% more likely to take up screening than those in the control group, indicating that in developing countries, screening efforts must include subsidies towards treatment costs.
Determining the Relationship of Depression to Work Status and Income Among HIV Clients in Sub-Saharan Africa
Oct 23, 2012

Findings suggest that while depression is related to work and income, its influence may only be indirect through its relationship to other factors such as work self-efficacy and physical health functioning.
NATO Faces Growing Fiscal Austerity and Declining Defense Budgets
Oct 22, 2012

Seven NATO countries are reducing the size of their armies, navies, and air forces. The capacity of these major European powers to project military power will be highly constrained.
Muslim Brotherhood Challenged by Generational Divides
Oct 18, 2012

The Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic political movement that headed the national government in Egypt until its ouster in the summer of 2013, faced a generational divide that posed significant challenges to the group as it worked to extend its role in Egyptian society.
Libya and the Future of Liberal Intervention
Oct 12, 2012

As a case of military intervention, Libya does not tell us much about how useful the lower-cost, lighter footprint adopted there can be under more challenging conditions, or when the objective is broader and more transformational, as was the case at the outset in Iraq and Afghanistan, writes Christopher S. Chivvis.
What Are the Prospects for Democratization in the Arab World?
Oct 10, 2012

Revolutionary protests in 2011 upended long-standing authoritarian regimes in the Arab world. What lies ahead for Egypt, Tunisia, and other countries undergoing political change? How can the challenges of moving from regime change to democratic governance be overcome?
Historical Lessons for Creating Local Defense Forces for Afghanistan and Beyond
Sep 18, 2012

Lessons learned from past cases of local defense forces used in the context of counterinsurgency—in Indochina, Algeria, South Vietnam, Oman, El Salvador, Southern Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Iraq—can be applied to the current development of the Afghan Local Police.
Libya's Downward Spiral
Sep 13, 2012

Libya is neither Iraq nor Afghanistan, let alone Somalia. It has much going for it that these post-conflict cases did not, including relatively unified citizens, wealth, a neighborhood comparatively conducive to stability, and a clear victory over the former regime, writes Christopher Chivvis.
Violence in Libya Leaves Unanswered Questions
Sep 12, 2012

Qaddafi is gone, but if violence spreads, it could call into question the no-footprint post-conflict model that the United States and its allies chose after last year's intervention, writes Christopher S. Chivvis.
A Year After the Fall of Tripoli, Libya Still Fragile
Aug 23, 2012

The countries that helped topple Moammar Gadhafi a year ago have a special obligation to ensure the new Libyan government gets all the help it needs to respond to these new threats effectively, writes Christopher Chivvis.
Changing of the Guard in Egypt
Aug 14, 2012

Morsi's moves were certainly dramatic, and he may not be done. He has "decreed" that he has the right to select the next Constituent Assembly—deciding the constitution—if this one fails or is disbanded, writes Julie Taylor.
Arab Spring Revolutions Have Not Yet Created Democracies, but Democratization Is Possible
Jul 18, 2012

PRGS student Tewodaj "Todi" Mengistu (cohort '07) is a coauthor of a recent RAND report on democratization in the Arab world. A key takeaway: Policymakers in the United States and other nations should be wary of "rules of thumb" and simplified predictions of how political change will happen.