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Commentary

New Thinking to Translate Infrastructure Dollars into Resilience

Jun 2, 2021

Infrastructure investments the United States makes today to recover from the pandemic can help boost resilience for the future. We will need to think beyond what we've done in the past to ensure that these investments can continue to protect the nation from shifting threats in the future.
Commentary

Progress on Infrastructure, but the Devil May Be in the Details

May 21, 2021

Negotiations are underway between the White House and Congress about the scope of investment in infrastructure and how to pay for it. But reaching a compromise on spending may not be enough to ensure that the spending will produce results as intended.

Explore Infrastructure Finance

Commentary

National Wastewater Tracking Could Help Us Stay Ahead of COVID-19—but Congress Cut the Funds

For years, medical experts have used wastewater to track the spread of diseases. The National Wastewater Surveillance System has the potential to significantly change the way we fight COVID-19 as well as future pandemics, bacterial diseases, and viruses. But building up the robustness of a wastewater surveillance system will take financial support, and it's not clear Congress will provide it.

Mar 24, 2022
Commentary

More Than Green: Leveraging Green Bonds to Invest in Greater Climate Resilience

The significance of green bonds may depend not only on having a lot of them but also on carefully developing, investing, and tracking projects against the larger goal of climate resilience.

Nov 24, 2021
Commentary

The Growing Green Bond Market Could Plateau. How Can It Grow Further?

If green bonds are a viable tool to reduce emissions and adapt infrastructure to the effects of climate change, how can governments encourage the issuance, sales, and growth in the share of green bonds in the total bond market?

Nov 23, 2021
Commentary

Green Bonds Can Leave Issuers in the Red

To achieve the Biden administration's blueprint for solar energy and focus on climate change mitigation and adaptation, green bonds may be worth considering. But, like any other financing instrument, they may be best considered through a cost-benefit lens.

Nov 22, 2021
Commentary

Climate Change Is Only One Driver of Explosive Wildfire Season—Don't Forget Land Management

The fire seasons that have been scorching huge areas and wiping entire towns from the map appear to be the future. Accepting that wildland fires are a part of our environment and working to live with fires rather than continuously fighting against them may be the most responsible path forward.

Aug 16, 2021
Commentary

Defund Prisons, Not Police

The United States spends billions on prisons, jails, and juvenile detention facilities. New lows in incarceration rates present a chance to shift resources away from costly correctional facilities and toward education, job training, transportation, and other community services.

Aug 9, 2021
News Release

Labor Regulations Attached to Proposition HHH Lowered Los Angeles Housing Production Through Increased Costs, Developer ...

A project labor agreement requiring that a primarily union workforce be used for housing projects for the homeless in Los Angeles appears to be one reason that the city's $1.2 billion Proposition HHH ballot initiative is falling short of its goal.

Aug 2, 2021
Report

Effects of Project Labor Agreements on Affordable Housing Production

A project labor agreement requiring that a primarily union workforce be used for housing projects for people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles appears to be one reason that the city's $1.2 billion Proposition HHH ballot initiative is falling short of its goal.

Aug 2, 2021
Report

Incentivizing Solar: Catalyzing Solar Energy Technology Adoption to Address the Challenge of Climate Change

The authors provide an overview of the U.S. solar energy market and identify federal incentives that can help decarbonize the U.S. economy. They also explore solar reliability, job benefits, and availability to disadvantaged communities.

Jul 14, 2021
Testimony

U.S. Airport Funding and Finance

Billions of dollars are spent every year on infrastructure at U.S. airports to help aviation connect the country. Where does this funding come from? And how do needs, resources, and pandemic effects vary across different types of airports?

Jun 23, 2021
Commentary

U.S. Military Power Comes from More Than Just the Defense Budget

With U.S. domestic challenges ranging from the ongoing pandemic to long-delayed infrastructure investments, now is a good time to consider spending that provides both domestic and national security benefits. Infrastructure spending offers one such example.

May 10, 2021
Report

How Does Defense Spending Affect Economic Growth?

Prioritizing defense spending over infrastructure investment might undermine economic growth. Given that the size and health of the U.S. economy are ultimately the basis for the nation's military power, policymakers should consider that the economic effects of defense spending have consequences for long-term security.

May 7, 2021
Blog

Biden's First Address to Congress: Insights from RAND

President Joe Biden addressed a joint session of Congress, summarizing his administration's early COVID-19 response and outlining plans that aim to loosen the pandemic's year-long grip on a weary nation. The speech reflected the fact that the United States faces policy challenges across a wide range of domains.

Apr 29, 2021
Commentary

Navigating Speed Bumps to a Possible Federal Vehicle Miles Traveled Fee

It's been clear for years that the gas tax has been losing its ability to pay for America's existing roads and bridges, let alone improvements and new construction. A vehicle miles traveled fee could provide a potential option for a 21st-century transportation funding system.

Mar 26, 2021
Journal Article

Infrastructure Resilience to Navigate Increasingly Uncertain and Complex Conditions in the Anthropocene

Resilience theory can help infrastructure managers navigate increasing complexity of the systems and environments in which they operate.

Mar 4, 2021
Commentary

Creating the Right Incentives for State and Local Governments to Reduce Disaster Costs

In the United States, federal, state, and local governments share responsibility for paying for losses from disasters. As the frequency and severity of disasters has increased, so have the losses. It’s worth considering whether the current risk-sharing approach is appropriate.

Oct 14, 2020
Report

Insuring Public Buildings, Contents, Vehicles, and Equipment Against Disasters

What insurance and financial risk management practices do state and local governments employ for buildings, contents, vehicles, and equipment, and what role does Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance play in these decisions?

Oct 9, 2020
Journal Article

Addressing Impact Evaluation Gaps in Belt and Road Initiative Projects in Africa: The Standard Gauge Railway Project in Kenya as a Proof of Concept

Proposing new directions for evaluation framework development targeting the Belt and Road Initiative projects, using the Standard Gauge Railway project in Kenya as a proof of concept of our proposed evaluation framework.

Oct 7, 2020

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RAND Topic:
Infrastructure Finance

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RAND Social and Economic Well-Being