RAND Social and Economic Well-Being Commentary

Commentary from RAND researchers on topics related to social and economic well-being.

Organizational Leadership
At the Intersection of Leadership, Strategy, and Foresight
Dec 28, 2021
Bob Harrison

Police leaders spend considerable time developing strategic plans, but events and circumstances can evolve in unanticipated ways. To create survivable plans, leaders should assess capabilities and the environment within which they work. To do so, they should incorporate foresight to develop the adaptability necessary to thrive.
Pandemic
American Attitudes About Vaccine Globalism
Dec 9, 2021
Katherine Grace Carman @KGCarman, Anita Chandra

Overall, American support for sharing vaccines with other countries was high even before the Omicron variant. This may reflect recognition of the need to proactively address the pandemic beyond U.S. borders to truly be on the path to recovery.
Environmental Science and Technology
Measuring Greenhouse Gases in Los Angeles County
Nov 30, 2021

Los Angeles, once the U.S. capital of smog and sprawl, has vowed to lead the nation into a cleaner, greener future by stamping out carbon pollution. A small array of sensors installed on the roof of RAND's Santa Monica headquarters could help it get there.
Military Veterans
Why Are U.S. Veterans at Heightened Risk of Food Insecurity?
Nov 24, 2021
Tamara Dubowitz @TamaraDubowitz, Andrea Richardson @ASRichardson3

U.S. veterans are at great risk of food insecurity, but there is limited understanding of exactly how many veterans lack resources to attain adequate and nutritious food and why. If resources are to be directed more effectively, the United States needs better clarity into the magnitude of the problem.
Banking and Financial Services
More Than Green: Leveraging Green Bonds to Invest in Greater Climate Resilience
Nov 24, 2021
Karishma V. Patel, Michelle E. Miro

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.
Banking and Financial Services
The Growing Green Bond Market Could Plateau. How Can It Grow Further?
Nov 23, 2021
David Catt, Nihar Chhatiawala, et al.

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?
Infrastructure Finance
Green Bonds Can Leave Issuers in the Red
Nov 22, 2021
Brian Wong, Ismael Arciniegas Rueda

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 Brian Wong (cohort '20) suggests that, like any other financing instrument, they may be best considered through a cost-benefit lens.
Military Veterans
On Veterans Day, There Are Still Thousands of Homeless Vets in L.A. We Followed 26 to Find Out Why
Nov 11, 2021
Sarah B. Hunter

An estimated 3,900 veterans live unhoused in Los Angeles. The city has the largest VA medical center in the nation. There are federal housing programs exclusively for veterans. So why hasn't Los Angeles been able to make a dent?
Child Well-Being
How Are the Kids Doing? The Well-Being of Children and the Nation's Potential
Oct 22, 2021
Anita Chandra, Neal Halfon, et al.

Today's children are growing up amid extraordinary challenges that could shape their health, development, and well-being for years to come. Investing in a new approach to measure their potential to flourish could promote national well-being in the long term.
Residential Housing
Renters' Last Chance for Pandemic Aid Before Evictions Resume
Sep 24, 2021
George Zuo

The pandemic has battered Los Angeles renters, and a new wave of pain is coming with the moratorium on evictions ending September 30. But this housing crisis doesn't have to turn into a new homelessness crisis. Californians with incomes below 80 percent of their area's median are eligible to receive funds from the COVID-19 Rent Relief program.
Emergency Preparedness
Hurricane Ida Is Part of a Cycle of Disasters—Mitigating Their Impact Means Building Back Better
Sep 13, 2021
Jay Balagna, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg @aclarkginsberg

Building back better means focusing on recovery that not only restores damage from a disaster but also reduces future risk. To meet that goal today, we need to look at the ways our disaster preparedness and response systems actually create risk themselves, by reinforcing things like wealth inequality, systemic discrimination, or access to crucial services.
Environmental Regulation
Achieving Decarbonization and Energy Equity Through Reconciliation
Sep 9, 2021
Liam Regan, Benjamin Lee Preston @bl_preston

The past two years have witnessed increasingly vocal calls for rapid decarbonization of the global economy through a clean energy transition. How can Congress ensure that new costs associated with a clean energy transition do not fall disproportionately on lower-income ratepayers?
Violent Extremism
Violent Extremism in America: Pathways to Deradicalization
Sep 8, 2021

Ideologically inspired violence is a serious threat to U.S. national security. Research on effective strategies to fight it has often failed to engage the people who might know best: those who have lived that life and left it behind. Researchers partnered with antiextremism support groups to change that.
Criminal Justice
Criminal Justice in the Pandemic Era and Beyond
Sep 7, 2021

The pandemic forced the entire criminal justice system to adapt and innovate in ways it never had before. How can the lessons of COVID-19 improve the future of criminal justice?
Alternative and Renewable Energy
Costa Rica Leads the Way in Cutting Carbon Emissions
Aug 30, 2021

Almost every country has pledged to slash carbon emissions to slow the gears of global warming. Costa Rica's plan provides a glimpse of what a carbon-neutral future will look like. It shows how nations can take action and make investments that hold up, regardless of what future comes to pass.
Wildfires
Climate Change Is Only One Driver of Explosive Wildfire Season—Don't Forget Land Management
Aug 16, 2021
Jim Whittington, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg @aclarkginsberg, et al.

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.
Public Health Preparedness
How Have Communities Been Faring During COVID-19? And How Will Lessons Learned Inform Future Response and Planning?
Aug 11, 2021
Anita Chandra, Linnea Warren May @LinneaKWMay, et al.

As the United States emerges from the devastation of the pandemic, it may be time to examine the choices communities made during the last year to see how these approaches shape continued COVID-19 response and recovery and help build resilience for future pandemic response.

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Researcher Spotlight

George Zuo

Associate Economist

George Zuo (pronounced "zō") is an applied microeconomist whose research focuses on improving economic mobility for low-income Americans. His research has explored topics including broadband affordability, school discipline, housing, and revitalizing low-income neighborhoods. Zuo received his…

Linnea Warren May

Associate Policy Researcher

Linnea Warren May is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. She has worked on projects related to building a culture of health, city resilience planning, integrating data to assess well-being and social equity, patient experience with health care, disaster recovery, and military…

Jhacova Williams

Associate Economist

Jhacova ("Jacova") Williams is an associate economist at the RAND Corporation. She is an applied microeconomist focusing primarily on economic history and cultural economics. Her previous work has examined Southern culture and the extent to which historical events have impacted the political…

Aaron Clark-Ginsberg

Behavioral/Social Scientist

Aaron Clark-Ginsberg (he/him) is a behavioral/social scientist at the RAND Corporation who has been researching disasters for more than 10 years. His projects span the disasters gambit, with a recent focus on three primary areas of inquiry: disasters and community, disasters and health, and…

Workers' Compensation During COVID-19

How Do Education Benefits Support Veterans’ Transitions to Civilian Life?

Geoengineering, the Russia-Ukraine Crisis, Biosimilar Drugs: RAND Weekly Recap

Could the U.S. Play Offense in China's Back Yard?

Centering Participatory Action Research in Racial Equity and Global Justice

The Policy Currents Podcast

Measuring Wellbeing to Help Communities Thrive

Assessing and Articulating the Wider Benefits of Research

Managing Escalation in Crisis and War

Helping Coastal Communities Plan for Climate Change

RAND Social and Economic Well-Being Commentary

At the Intersection of Leadership, Strategy, and Foresight

American Attitudes About Vaccine Globalism

Measuring Greenhouse Gases in Los Angeles County

Why Are U.S. Veterans at Heightened Risk of Food Insecurity?

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

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

Green Bonds Can Leave Issuers in the Red

On Veterans Day, There Are Still Thousands of Homeless Vets in L.A. We Followed 26 to Find Out Why

How Are the Kids Doing? The Well-Being of Children and the Nation's Potential

Renters' Last Chance for Pandemic Aid Before Evictions Resume

Hurricane Ida Is Part of a Cycle of Disasters—Mitigating Their Impact Means Building Back Better

Achieving Decarbonization and Energy Equity Through Reconciliation

Violent Extremism in America: Pathways to Deradicalization

Criminal Justice in the Pandemic Era and Beyond

Costa Rica Leads the Way in Cutting Carbon Emissions

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

How Have Communities Been Faring During COVID-19? And How Will Lessons Learned Inform Future Response and Planning?

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