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Economic Policy

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Economic policies are the end results of economic planning: the decisions governments make to influence the production, consumption, and sharing of wealth. RAND research has explored economic policies from the local to the international level, including their effects on international trade and foreign relations, their relation to policies focusing on public health and the environment, and their impact on economic growth and recessions.

Commentary
Will States Take the Wrong Lesson About Unemployment Insurance's Failings?
By shoring up all state-run Unemployment Insurance programs equally, Congress set a precedent that it will intervene to raise benefits at no cost to state trust funds. From the states' perspective, why hike taxes on businesses to maintain robust unemployment benefits if Congress will step in when the economy goes south?
Mar 18, 2021
Commentary
Shared Prosperity: The Crying Need for Inclusive Globalization
The disaffection of a wide swath of the American population has been linked to the political polarization of the country, as well as its divisive tendencies. While globalization is not the only reason for this disaffection, it is an apt lens through which to view the revolt against elitism, expertise, and changing demographics.
Feb 23, 2021

Explore Economic Policy

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 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
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
Multimedia
Big Themes and Geopolitics with Robert B. Zoellick
Robert B. Zoellick shares two complementary perspectives on risks to global democracy, identifying transnational trends and pointing out geopolitical shifts in Eurasia. His message concludes with implications for the future.
Jun 27, 2023
Report
Comparing Taliban Social Media Usage by Language: Who's Speaking and What's Being Said
Focusing on the economy, relationships with other militant groups and neighboring countries, and women's status in Afghan society, the authors examined whether Taliban social media messaging across various regional languages was similar or different.
Apr 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
Brochure
RAND: 75 Years of Making a Difference
To commemorate its 75th anniversary, RAND took a closer look at some of its most influential research. The selections in this volume demonstrate RAND's positive—and enduring—contributions in addressing some of the world's most challenging problems.
Jan 19, 2023
Report
Critical Material Supply Chains Should Be More Resilient
The COVID-19 pandemic and Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the vulnerabilities of supply chains that are dependent on foreign inputs. How can the U.S. Department of Defense increase the resilience of its supply chains for materials essential to national security?
Dec 15, 2022
Blog
The Racial Wealth Gap, the Effects of Long COVID, Teacher Diversity: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on understanding the racial wealth gap, why long COVID may threaten the U.S. economy, what prevents people of color from becoming and staying teachers, and more.
Dec 9, 2022
Report
Overcoming Compound Racial Inequity
Differences in Black and white Americans' economic status show how the harms of the past—slavery, segregation, discrimination—live on in the present. Could wealth allocations help to close the racial wealth gap?
Dec 7, 2022
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
Commentary
How COVID-19 Transformed the Jobs Market
The COVID-19 pandemic initially devastated the U.S. economy. It also exposed and exacerbated existing inequities in society. But in as yet unpredictable ways, it may have accelerated profound changes in how labor works today.
Dec 1, 2022
Commentary
Xi Jinping Is Weaker Than You Think
Although Xi wields significant influence over Chinese domestic politics—certainly more than his most recent predecessors—he still needs support from the Party elite. And on that front, some cracks are showing.
Oct 14, 2022
Commentary
Got a Labor Shortage? Make It Easier to Work
If the United States wants to avoid a long-term worker shortage, it should look to what policy can—but has failed to—fully address. We have a long history using carrots and sticks, but this is a problem we may not be able to cajole or punish our way out of. Finding workers can be as simple as giving more people a chance to work.
Aug 2, 2022
Commentary
Is a Recession Coming? A Key Indicator Is Also the King of Mixed Messages
When fears of inflation arise in the United States, people start paying a lot of attention to weekly unemployment-insurance claims, as an early indicator of layoffs that could augur a broader slump. But unemployment claims are a flawed gauge that may be particularly skewed by the pandemic.
May 27, 2022
Blog
Extremism Online, Russia's Military, Preventing Police Killings: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the internet's role in stoking extremism and hate, how Russia has failed its military personnel, a research roadmap to help prevent police killings in the United States, and more.
May 20, 2022
Report
Business Community Support for U.S. Policies Toward China
Policies implemented by the Trump administration were designed to confront China over its problematic behaviors, such as theft of technology and intellectual property. U.S. businesses agreed with the policies, but questioned some of the tactics used. How can Washington address corporate concerns and still compete against China?
May 16, 2022
Commentary
How Could the United States Incentivize Investors to Decarbonize the Economy?
While mandatory climate-related disclosure may improve information and decisionmaking for investors, it alone is unlikely to accelerate investment in decarbonization at the rate needed. To motivate private investment in climate mitigation, policymakers could explore additional policies.
May 12, 2022
Report
Disruption Without Change: The Consequences of COVID-19 on the Global Economic Balance
The author reviews the economic track record of the United States, its competitors, and its allies to discern how economic changes induced by the COVID-19 pandemic could affect geopolitical competition and the security environment.
Mar 21, 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

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Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Molly F. McIntosh

Director, Personnel, Readiness, and Health Program

Molly McIntosh is director of the Personnel, Readiness, and Health Program (PRH) within the RAND National Security Research Division, and a senior economist at the RAND Corporation. The PRH research portfolio is focused on strategic human capital management in the national security sector, and…
Virginia Zhang

Ph.D. Student, Pardee RAND Graduate School, and Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND

Virginia Zhang is an assistant policy researcher at RAND and a Ph.D. student in the Research, Analysis, and Design stream at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. She has a B.A. in economics and sociology from New York University.

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