North America

  • A barista making coffee while wearing a mask, photo by stockstudioX/Getty Images

    Report

    Barriers to Entering the U.S. Middle Class

    Achieving and keeping middle-class status has become more difficult. Jobs with good pay for those without a college degree are getting exported or eliminated. Earning educational credentials is costly. Existing jobs are increasing education requirements, providing fewer benefits, and may not lead to longer-term careers.

    Apr 22, 2021

  • Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga and U.S. President Joe Biden walk on the Colonnade prior to their joint news conference at the White House in Washington, D.C., April 16, 2021, photo by Doug Mills/Pool via CNP/InStar

    Commentary

    'Joe-Yoshi' Spirit Buoys Japan-U.S. Alliance in Turbulent Seas

    President Biden and Prime Minister Suga appear to have established a warm, personal rapport while communicating a clear vision of the importance of working together to end the pandemic, combat climate change, preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific, and defend democracy.

    Apr 20, 2021

  • North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during the conference of the Central Military Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 23, 2020, photo by KCNA/Reuters

    Commentary

    Think the Coronavirus Is Curbing Kim's Atomic Appetite? Think Again

    Coronavirus or not, Kim Jong-un's appetite for nuclear and missile bargaining with the United States remains intact. This likely spells further weapons demonstrations from North Korea, with potentially longer-range missile demonstrations to test Washington's resolve in its nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang.

    Apr 20, 2021

  • Older couple using a mobile phone for a telemedicine appointment, photo by FatCamera/Getty Images

    Commentary

    No Patient Left Behind: Considering Equitable Distribution of Telehealth

    The pandemic has revealed telemedicine's potential to improve health care delivery and access. Telemedicine could help reach patients who would normally be excluded or alienated by the traditional structure of the health system.

    Apr 20, 2021

  • Female Engagement Team

    Multimedia

    The Future of the Special Operations Forces

    An overview of testimony by Linda Robinson presented before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations on March 26, 2021.

    Apr 19, 2021

  • Close up of a hand holding a tablet with medical billing information displayed, photo by nito100/Getty Images

    Report

    Barriers to Price and Quality Transparency in Health Care Markets

    RAND researchers gathered information on how health care prices are set, price variation in health care markets, barriers to price and quality transparency for consumers, and the extent to which price and quality information is used in marketing.

    Apr 19, 2021

  • Blog

    COVID-19 Demographic Trends, Vaccinating 'High-Contact' People, the Iran Threat Network: RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on how the pandemic is shaping demographic trends, targeting vaccines to "high-contact" people, the Iran Threat Network, and more.

    Apr 16, 2021

  • A perimeter fence around what is officially known as a vocational skills education center in Dabancheng in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, September 4, 2018, photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters

    Commentary

    Upcoming Summit an Opportunity for Japan to Reconsider Whether to Join Rest of G-7 in Sanctioning China Over Genocide

    Japan has been lukewarm in its response to global condemnation of China's crimes against humanity against the Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang. What options might President Biden have to encourage Japan to reconsider its position as he hosts his first in-person summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga?

    Apr 15, 2021

  • Elementary schoolchildren wearing face masks in a classroom, photo by kevajefimija/Getty Images

    Commentary

    Commit Now to Get Summer Programming Right

    Summer programs, when targeted to needs, intentionally designed, and well-attended, produce positive outcomes for children in math and reading. But they need federal support, and require early planning to make them worthwhile.

    Apr 15, 2021

  • A gun store sign with a red arrow pointing downwards. Photo by jetcityimage / Getty Images

    Report

    Contemporary Issues in Gun Policy: Essays from the RAND Gun Policy in America Project

    This report, part of RAND's Gun Policy in America project, presents essays that synthesize the available scientific data on topics pertinent to firearm policy in the United States, such as mass shootings and firearm and ammunition taxes.

    Apr 15, 2021

  • European External Action Service (EEAS) Deputy Secretary General Enrique Mora and Iranian Deputy at Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi wait for the start of a meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission in Vienna, Austria April 6, 2021

    Commentary

    The Biden Administration Will Find It Difficult to Contain Israel and Iran's Escalating Tensions

    Iran is blaming Israel for a blackout at one of its nuclear research facilities. This attack is likely to complicate nuclear diplomacy and further erode trust between Tehran and Washington. Also, it may only incentivize Iran to advance its nuclear program.

    Apr 14, 2021

  • Houthi fighters during a gathering of Houthi loyalists on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen, July 8, 2020, photo by Khaled Abdullah/Reuters

    Report

    Understanding the Iran Threat Network

    The Iran Threat Network is a formidable force of tens of thousands of fighters from non-Iranian, nonstate proxy and partner groups. How does this network factor into Tehran's political and military strategy?

    Apr 14, 2021

  • Journal Article

    Journal Article

    A Qualitative Evaluation of Housing for Health in Los Angeles County

    This study uses data from 14 qualitative interviews with senior leaders and nine focus groups with tenants and program staff to understand tenant experiences with permanent supportive housing programs, as they relate to care coordination.

    Apr 13, 2021

  • Journal Article

    Journal Article

    Making Schools Safer And/Or Escalating Disciplinary Response: A Study of Police Officers in North Carolina Schools

    In this study, we try to understand the causal role that school resource officers play in school safety and the day-to-day practice of school discipline by using incident-level administrative data from North Carolina public schools.

    Apr 13, 2021

  • Journal Article

    Journal Article

    How High: Differences in the Developments of Cannabis Markets in Two Legalized States

    This paper is the first to examine cannabis market data from Washington alongside that from Oregon, two states that are similar in regard to legalizing retail sales of cannabis but differ in terms of their regulatory frameworks.

    Apr 13, 2021

  • Employees assemble ventilator components behind a plastic curtain at a GE Healthcare manufacturing facility in Madison, Wisconsin, April 21, 2020, photo by Daniel Acker/Reuters

    Commentary

    Supply Chains and National Security

    Lessons from the pandemic will be sorted through for years. But one thing seems very clear: The United States is not ready in a policy or infrastructure or even physical-capacity sense to respond to major shocks to its supply chains.

    Apr 12, 2021

  • U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken with Japan's Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi and Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi at a joint press conference in Tokyo, March 16, 2021, photo by Yomiuri Shimbun/Reuters

    Commentary

    Biden Puts Japan at the Center of U.S. Policy in Asia

    Addressing the Chinese threat in the Indo-Pacific requires working with allies and partners. So far, Japan appears to be one of the priority relationships for the Biden administration.

    Apr 12, 2021

  • MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft return after a long-range raid from Combined Arms Training Center, Camp Fuji, Japan to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, Nov. 4, 2016, photo by Sergeant Major Michael Cato/U.S. Marine Corps

    Commentary

    The United States Considers Reinforcing Its 'Pacific Sanctuary'

    Soon after he took office, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered a posture review to ensure that the U.S. global footprint is the right size to support U.S. strategy. Japan's continued importance to U.S. strategy and Tokyo's increased willingness to be more proactive in the security domain mean that Japan could see an uptick in U.S. military presence after this review is complete.

    Apr 12, 2021

  • Social networking service, streaming video, communication network, photo by metamorworks/Getty Images

    Commentary

    The Intelligence Community's Deadly Bias Toward Classified Sources

    Even when relevant data is publicly available, U.S. intelligence analysts are not including it in their analytic products during their routine course of business. This willful ignorance of publicly available information is hurting U.S. national security.

    Apr 12, 2021

  • Nurse Nicole McCurrach draws up COVID-19 vaccinations at Richmond raceway in Richmond, Virginia, March 4, 2021, photo by Julia Rendleman/Reuters

    Commentary

    Target Vaccine to 'High-Contact' People

    Actively seeking out people with lots of contacts for vaccination could bring the epidemic under control much more quickly than vaccinating people at random. Vaccinating just 15 percent of the population would be enough to crush the epidemic—so long as it was the right 15 percent.

    Apr 9, 2021

Research conducted by