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Economic Development

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Economic development includes a host of issues—including energy supply; technology; and access to jobs, food, water, education, health care, and housing—that are fundamental to improving the economic status of communities and transforming impoverished nations. RAND takes a multidisciplinary approach to investigating opportunities for economic development, modeling future trends, and applying objective analysis to recommend policy solutions for global, national, and local economies.

Commentary
Job Training Is More Effective When All Parties Work Together
The United States is facing economic gaps wider than have been seen in a century. To keep the nation economically strong and able to provide citizens with middle-class lifestyles, educators, government, and private industry need to work together to shape training opportunities.
Jul 6, 2021
Commentary
Split-Screen Pandemic Recovery Isn't Sustainable
In a world connected by commerce and the air we breathe, it's hard to see how any COVID-19 recovery that's confined to specific segments of the population is sustainable. Failing to address gaps in the pandemic response would run the risk that a future mutation of this virus could send us scurrying for cover. Again.
Jul 20, 2021

Explore Economic Development

Commentary
From the Ashes of Hamas-Israel War, Can Economics Drive Peace?
The economic costs of the violence in Gaza threaten Israel's economic future. For the Palestinians, the costs may be so large that they undermine the possibility of an independent Palestinian state. But the magnitude of these economic losses may, paradoxically, forge a new pathway toward peace once the fighting stops.
Nov 28, 2023
Report
Development as a Tool of Economic Statecraft: A Net Assessment of U.S. and Chinese Approaches
The authors conduct a net assessment of U.S. and Chinese approaches to development assistance and cooperation, using a data-driven comparison to reveal opportunities for the United States to better compete with China in the developing world.
Oct 23, 2023
Commentary
The Lithuanian Success Story
The horrors of the past have motivated Lithuanians to build a successful new independent country. Lithuania is a success story, an advertisement for democracy and market economics during a dark period in Eastern Europe.
Oct 20, 2023
Commentary
The City of Pittsburgh's a Movie Star
Pennsylvania lawmakers and other stakeholders should consider updates to the film tax credit law and economic development strategy to improve the state's competitiveness, enhance the stability of the industry, and fill gaps in the current workforce.
Oct 5, 2023
Blog
Private Military Contractors, China's Efforts to Imprison Tibetans, Truth Decay: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on undermining Russia's private military contractors, what nighttime lighting reveals about the Chinese Communist Party's efforts to imprison Tibetans, how Truth Decay damages national security, and more.
Aug 11, 2023
Report
The Film Industry in Pittsburgh: What's the Economic Contribution?
A Pennsylvania tax credit has attracted many film productions to Pittsburgh. What economic contribution does the film industry make to the local economy? And what are the factors that help attract film productions and grow the film industry in a given area?
Aug 10, 2023
Journal Article
Cultural Evolution and the Economic Wealth of Nations
This chapter reviews research on the cultural evolution of economic development around the globe, including the relationship between development outcomes and linguistic and religious ancestry.
May 25, 2023
Commentary
Economic Security and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Addressing a Changed World and Evolved Threat Landscape
This Perspective describes the evolving strategic environment for and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's critical role in economic security.
Apr 13, 2023
Journal Article
Evaluation Framework for the Strength in Places Fund: A Report for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
This report sets out the evaluation framework for the Strength in Places Fund. It includes a process evaluation to understand what has worked in the design and delivery of the fund and an impact evaluation to understand what SIPF has achieved.
Mar 7, 2023
Report
Quantifying the link between COVID-19, conflict risk, and the global economy
Our research suggests that COVID-19 will significantly increase the risk of civil conflict in African countries. We estimate this effect will, in turn, have negative global repercussions via international trade losses.
Mar 3, 2023
Journal Article
'Security Is a Prerequisite for Development': Consensus-Building Toward a New Top Priority in the Chinese Communist Party
Chinese Communist Party leaders conducted an internal debate over whether economic development should remain the Party's top priority. As of 2020, the Party embraced a new guiding principle elevating security interests alongside economic growth.
Dec 7, 2022
Report
A New Approach to U.S. Security Policy in the Middle East
U.S. interests in the Middle East and the risks posed to them have evolved in ways that call for a modified set of priorities. The United States should not disengage from the region, but instead protect its interests by relying less on military operations and more on diplomacy and other civilian tools.
Sep 22, 2022
Report
Economic Benefits of U.S. Alliances and Military Engagement
Decisions about alliances and forward military presence should be based on a range of factors beyond potential economic benefits. But there is evidence that military engagement has historically helped the U.S. economy by promoting international commerce.
Sep 1, 2022
Blog
Russian Mercenaries, Online Extremism, the Commercial Space Market: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on Russia's use of mercenaries, understanding how extremist movements operate online, trends in the commercial space market, and more.
Apr 15, 2022
Commentary
Russia's Tragic Failure to Reform Its Economy
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and resulting sanctions will likely devastate Russia's economy. If the country had taken a more productive economic course over the past two decades, it might be looking toward a different future—one in which economic reforms had more tightly integrated Russia with the economically advanced countries, enhanced Russian influence and power, and built global trust.
Apr 7, 2022
Report
A Green Costa Rican COVID-19 Recovery
Before COVID-19 hit, Costa Rica had been taking a leading role in addressing the effects of climate change by investing in decarbonization. Could these same investments also accelerate Costa Rica's pandemic economic recovery and help address historical inequities?
Feb 24, 2022
Report
An Overview of the Effectiveness of U.S. Counternarcotics Efforts in Colombia, 2000–Present, and Recommendations for the Future
The authors of this report examine the period in Colombia from 2000 to 2020 to assess the effectiveness of U.S. counternarcotics and security efforts: eradication of coca, interdiction of cocaine, security and rule of law, and development.
Feb 11, 2022
Multimedia
Hacking Equity: Highlights from the RAND-AUC Hackathon
Hacking Equity paired students from Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, and Spelman College with Pardee RAND doctoral students and RAND mentors for a virtual public policy hackathon.
Jan 28, 2022
Blog
Hackathon Introduces Undergraduate Students to Public Policy Research
For three weeks in October and November, undergraduates from Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, and Spelman College teamed up with Pardee RAND doctoral students to explore how vulnerable communities have fared during the pandemic and envision policies that might produce a more equitable recovery.
Dec 10, 2021
News Release
Hackathon Pairs HBCU Undergrads with Pardee RAND Graduate Students to Identify Ideas for More Equitable COVID-19 Recovery
Undergraduate students from Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, and Spelman College will work alongside Pardee RAND Graduate School students to seek ways to help vulnerable communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic during a virtual policy hackathon offered by the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation and Pardee RAND Graduate School.
Oct 27, 2021

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Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Joanna Hofman

Deputy Director, RAND Europe

Joanna Hofman (she/her) is deputy director of the RAND Europe division of the RAND Corporation. She leads the portfolio of research in the fields of employment and social policy. She specialises in process and impact evaluations drawing on various research designs (from experimental to mixed…
Evan D. Peet

Codirector, RAND Center for Causal Inference

Evan D. Peet (he/him/his) is an economist at the RAND Corporation, a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, and codirector of the RAND Center for Causal Inference. His research focuses on health and health policy. Currently, Peet is focusing on substance use disorders…

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