Finance

  • Blog

    Americans' Financial Struggles, COVID-19 Vaccinations, Virtual Schools: RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on Americans' ongoing financial struggles, how we can learn from the first phase of COVID-19 vaccinations, why virtual schools may be here to stay, and more.

    Dec 18, 2020

  • News Release

    News Release

    Financial Woes Grow Worse Over Course of Coronavirus Pandemic; More Families Report Trouble Paying Bills

    The economic challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic have grown worse since the spring for many American families, with an increasing number reporting that they have trouble paying bills.

    Dec 17, 2020

  • Cars line up during a food drive in East Rutherford, New Jersey, November 24, 2020, photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters

    Report

    Americans' Financial Difficulties Continue

    As the pandemic continues, many U.S. households are struggling to pay their bills. No income group has been spared financial difficulties, but the most-vulnerable households have been hit the hardest. There are severe challenges among lower-income workers and among Black and Hispanic households.

    Dec 17, 2020

  • Lease application form on a tablet with glasses, keyboard, and coffee cup, photo by courtneyk/Getty Images

    Commentary

    Your Personal Information Could End Up in the Hands of Foreign Investors

    If you've ever rented a property, you may have wondered what happens to the sensitive information on your application. Recent concerns over the foreign harvesting of personal information for questionable purposes should worry everyone.

    Dec 16, 2020

  • Cloud service icon with options and devices, photo by artisteer/Getty Images

    Commentary

    Too Interconnected to Fail

    The 2007–08 financial crisis made regulators and lawmakers acutely aware that some financial institutions had become too big to fail. The next big economic crisis may arise outside the financial sector, in highly networked companies that are too interconnected to fail.

    Aug 22, 2020

  • Chinese President Xi Jinping and his entourage meet with Ayatollah Khamenei in Iran, January 23, 2016, photo by Khamenei.ir / CC BY 4.0

    Commentary

    What to Watch to Understand the Sino-Iranian Relationship

    Beijing and Tehran are in the process of finalizing an ambitious partnership covering a range of security and economic issues. The United States should not overreact to shifting geopolitical dynamics in the Middle East, and should instead keep an eye out to assess the evolution of the relationship and take stock of what is delivered instead of what is merely promised.

    Aug 13, 2020

  • Plant growing in jar of British coins

    Dissertation

    Climate Finance and Green Bond Evolution: Informing Policy with Machine Learning Text Analytics

    Explores the evolution of themes associated with climate finance and green bonds to identify opportunities to enhance public-private cooperation and facilitate policymaking.

    Aug 4, 2020

  • Street sign with Wall St. and Main St. signs, photo by BobHemphill/Getty Images

    Commentary

    A Tale of Two Americas

    Economic pain in the United States is obvious and palpable everywhere except in the stock market. This spotlights inequality that has been increasing for decades. Undoing disparities will require firm policy commitment over many years.

    Jul 9, 2020

  • Report

    Report

    Exploring the use of Zcash cryptocurrency for illicit or criminal purposes

    To help inform public debate and decision making, RAND Europe explored the uses of cryptocurrencies for illicit or criminal purposes, focusing on the Zcash cryptocurrency, in a research project commissioned by the Electric Coin Company.

    May 6, 2020

  • Protesters calling for rent payments to be canceled amid the outbreak of COVID-19, in Washington, D.C., April 25, 2020, photo by Erin Scott/Reuters

    Commentary

    Coronavirus and the Looming Crisis in Rental Housing

    Housing security is vital to individual and collective well-being. It's also a key component in the nation's economic performance. The looming coronavirus eviction crisis suggests the need to address the systemic problem of housing affordability and security now.

    Apr 30, 2020

  • Residents carry boxes of free groceries distributed at a pop-up food pantry by the Massachusetts Army National Guard in Chelsea, Massachusetts, April 24, 2020, photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters

    Commentary

    The Second Wave of COVID Consequences

    Economists closely watch measures of consumer confidence because they are highly predictive economic indicators. New consumer data reveals likely long-term and prolonged economic fallout.

    Apr 24, 2020

  • Temporary closed signage is seen at a store in Manhattan following the outbreak of COVID-19, in New York City, March 15, 2020, photo by Jeenah Moon/Reuters

    Commentary

    The Danger of Converting a Health Crisis into a Financial Crisis

    The impulse to do something to help businesses right now is well-intended, but lending to companies that were highly leveraged pre-crisis is a risky bet. Assistance could be best directed toward sound enterprises that are likely to survive and contribute to boosting the economy in the coming years.

    Apr 13, 2020

  • Journal Article

    Journal Article

    Effect of Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease on Household Financial Outcomes

    Our goal in this study is estimate, on net, the financial effects of early-stage Alzheimer's Disease, from the start of first symptoms to diagnosis, on individuals and their families.

    Mar 10, 2020

  • Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, September 25, 2019, photo by Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

    Report

    Has Zimbabwe Changed Since Mugabe's Overthrow?

    After 37 years in power, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe was toppled via a military coup in November 2017. His successor and former vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, promised a break from authoritarian rule and economic mismanagement. Has he delivered?

    Feb 6, 2020

  • Research Brief

    Research Brief

    Systemic Risk: It's Not Just in the Financial Sector

    After a decade of focus on financial firms, new analysis using an innovative approach and new dataset shows that firms in a diverse range of sectors, such as technology and telecommunications, pose a systemic risk to the economy at large.

    Feb 3, 2020

  • Visualization of network graph, image by Jonathan William Welburn/RAND Corporation

    Report

    Systemic Risk in the Broad Economy

    After the 2008 financial crisis, research and policy focused on the risk that heavily interconnected networks could fuel the spread of economic crises—a problem known as systemic risk. A new analysis considers systemic risk in other sectors like technology, telecommunications, and health care.

    Jan 21, 2020

  • Former U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul A. Volcker at a news conference in New York, June 8, 2015, photo by Mike Segar/Reuters

    Announcement

    RAND Statement About Paul Volcker

    RAND notes with profound regret the death Paul Volcker, the legendary former chairman of the Federal Reserve who became a strong advocate for public service. Volcker was a generous supporter of RAND and served on RAND's board of trustees.

    Dec 9, 2019

  • Journal Article

    The Effect of Housing Wealth Losses on Spending in the Great Recession

    This article represents the first U.S. study employing exclusively household-level longitudinal data spanning the Great Recession to estimate the response of household spending to negative wealth shocks induced by the sharp declines in house prices.

    Sep 20, 2019

  • Journal Article

    Journal Article

    Financial Knowledge and Portfolio Complexity in Singapore

    This paper reports the first analysis of older Singaporeans' financial literacy using a unique new dataset, the Singapore Life Panel (SLP®).

    Sep 20, 2019

  • An adult son watches his mother cook, photo by DGLimages/Getty Images

    News Release

    Parents Who Support Unemployed Adult Children Curb Their Own Behavior

    Parents who financially help their unemployed adult children offset such costs by adjusting their behavior, particularly by spending less money on food, working more, and reducing retirement savings.

    Jul 9, 2019

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