RAND Social and Economic Well-Being Commentary

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

Wildfires
Australia's Fires: Respond Now, but Also Measure Toll on People for the Future
Jan 20, 2020
Melissa L. Finucane @MelissaFinucane
As an Australian, Melissa Finucane has watched with anguish as massive bushfires devastated wide swaths of her home country. As a researcher who studies community resilience, she can't help but think of how much blood, sweat, tears, and money will be required to recover.
Opioids
Fentanyl: The Most Dangerous Illegal Drug in America
Jan 13, 2020
America's fentanyl crisis is unlike previous drug epidemics and is likely to get worse. Deaths involving it and other synthetic opioids have surged from around 3,000 in 2013 to more than 30,000 in 2018. Solving the problem requires innovative approaches and unprecedented resources.
Wildfires
A Climate Scientist's Brush with Wildfire
Dec 18, 2019
Robert J. Lempert @RobertLempert
RAND researcher Robert Lempert was evacuated from the path of a wildfire. This experience emphasized for him the challenges of adapting to climate change, not merely because it is hard, but because it makes the familiar become unfamiliar in unexpected ways.
Discriminatory Practices
Did No One Audit the Apple Card Algorithm?
Nov 21, 2019
Osonde A. Osoba @OsondeOsoba
Complex, opaque technologies like artificial intelligence provide significant benefits to society. But those benefits don't eliminate the need for accountability and transparency.
Drug Markets and Supply
What Will the Opioid Crisis Look Like in Five Years?
Nov 18, 2019
Jirka Taylor, Peter Reuter
Despite variations in European opioid markets, there is an overarching commonality too: Once a synthetic opioid like fentanyl becomes dominant, it stays that way. The United States should prepare for fentanyl and other synthetic opioids as a lasting phenomenon. Learning from other countries' experiences is an important part of that effort.
Global Climate Change
How Voters Can Assess New Climate Plans
Nov 14, 2019
Robert J. Lempert @RobertLempert
While the U.S. government has announced its intention to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, most presidential candidates and many states have proposed climate plans of their own. How might voters determine if any of these plans can seriously address climate change?
Civic Education
The RAND Institute for Civil Justice: 40th Anniversary Reflections
Nov 6, 2019
Michael D. Rich @michaeldrich
The RAND Institute for Civil Justice (ICJ) has supplied government and private decisionmakers and the public with the results of objective, empirically based, analytic research. In this era of Truth Decay, the diminishing role of facts and analysis in public life, the ICJ's mission and research have never been more important.
Suicide
More Can Be Done to Save Veterans from Suicide
Nov 4, 2019
A decade of research at RAND has sought to focus the national conversation about suicide in general, and veteran suicide in particular, around solutions that work. The overwhelming message: We could do more to save the lives of veterans like Daniel Somers. Here is his story.
Prisoner Reentry
A Novel Approach to Helping People Returning from Prison
Oct 30, 2019
Many services try to address the needs of individuals returning from prison, but they're often designed without much input from the very people who need the services. A group of county agencies, service providers, and former prisoners collaborated to identify ways to improve reentry services in Los Angeles.
Wildfires
Turning Off Power to Combat Wildfires Could Harm the Very People Who Need Protection
Oct 28, 2019
Joie D. Acosta, Regina A. Shih @ReginaShih
Intentionally shutting off power may be a practical way to prevent power lines from sparking wildfires. But is it worth the risks? Until more thoughtful and comprehensive decisions are made, planned power outages need to be planned better.
Wildfires
Uncovering the Links Between Fires and Public Health in Equatorial Asia
Oct 25, 2019
Miriam Elizabeth Marlier
Fires in Indonesia, if left unchecked, could cause an average of 36,000 premature deaths annually across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Researchers built a tool that models the effect of the fires on public health.
Environmental Science and Technology
The Science of Climate Policy: Q&A with Benjamin Preston
Oct 22, 2019
Benjamin Preston, a senior policy researcher and director of RAND's Community Health and Environmental Policy Program, specializes in climate risk and adaptation, disaster recovery, and resilience. In this Q&A, he discusses common misperceptions about climate change and how to decarbonize the U.S. economy.
Opioids
Synthetic Opioid Crisis Still Growing, Often Among Unwitting Users
Oct 14, 2019
Bryce Pardo @brycepardo, Beau Kilmer @BeauKilmer
Although opioid prescriptions in the U.S. have fallen, opioid overdose deaths remain at historic levels. The continued spread of fentanyl and other illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids suggests the problem could still get worse.
Veterans Health Care
How High-Quality Mental Health Care Improves Veterans' Lives
Sep 25, 2019
A growing body of RAND research shows that veterans who receive high-quality care have the best chance of improving their mental health outcomes.
Social Determinants of Health
New Data on How We're Measuring a Culture of Health
Sep 13, 2019
Alonzo L. Plough, Anita Chandra
We are seeing small but positive changes in the appreciation of the social determinants of health and the need for broader community health investments. People are expanding their views of what influences health and there have been some targeted improvements in health care and public health access. Yet, the critical systemic changes needed for more transformative health improvements have been slower to follow.
Crime and Violence Prevention
'Stand Your Ground' Laws May Be Causing More Harm Than Good
Sep 12, 2019
Andrew R. Morral @AndrewMorral, Rosanna Smart @RosannaSmart
Americans have debated whether “stand your ground” laws or gun-free zones make us safer or less safe for decades. These are debates about factual matters that are, in principle, knowable. Without research on these and other topics, bad laws will inadvertently be passed or retained.
Environmental Pollution
We Built an App to Detect Areas Most Vulnerable to Life-Threatening Haze
Sep 10, 2019
Tianjia Liu, Miriam Elizabeth Marlier, et al.
Forest and land-use fires are ravaging Indonesia's Sumatra and Kalimantan islands. Haze from these fires is life-threatening; inhaling smoke can cause heart and respiratory diseases, leading to premature deaths. We developed a new tool to provide decisionmakers with information to protect people who live downwind.

Page 1 of 6
1
2
3
4
5
6
Next

Researcher Spotlight

Jordan R. Fischbach

Codirector, RAND Climate Resilience Center

Jordan R. Fischbach is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation, codirector of RAND's Climate Resilience Center, quality assurance manager for the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC), and an affiliate faculty member at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Fischbach leads…

Deborah A. Cohen

Senior Physician Policy Researcher

Deborah Cohen is a senior physician policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. She is the author of A Big Fat Crisis: The Hidden Influences Behind the Obesity Epidemic—and How We Can End It.

Laura Fraade-Blanar

Associate Policy Researcher

Laura Fraade-Blanar’s work sits at the intersection of health, technology, and transportation. She focuses on safety and risk, applying her background in public health and injury epidemiology to questions around measuring the safety of emerging and traditional transportation modes. Around…

Robert J. Lempert

Director, Frederick S. Pardee Center for Longer Range Global Policy and the Future Human Condition

Robert Lempert is a principal researcher at the RAND Corporation and Director of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for Longer Range Global Policy and the Future Human Condition. His research focuses on risk management and decision-making under conditions of deep uncertainty, with an emphasis on…

Systemic Risk in the Broad Economy

Turkey's Nationalist Course and How It Affects U.S.-Turkish Relations

The Politics of Man-Hunting and the Illusion of Victory

Artificial Intelligence and the Manufacturing of Reality

Built to Last: Planning and Funding Resilient Infrastructure

The Policy Currents Podcast

Helping Children Cope with Trauma: A School-Based Intervention

Planning for the Rising Costs of Dementia

Addressing the Invisible Wounds of War

Helping Coastal Communities Plan for Climate Change

RAND Social and Economic Well-Being Commentary

Australia's Fires: Respond Now, but Also Measure Toll on People for the Future

Fentanyl: The Most Dangerous Illegal Drug in America

A Climate Scientist's Brush with Wildfire

Did No One Audit the Apple Card Algorithm?

What Will the Opioid Crisis Look Like in Five Years?

How Voters Can Assess New Climate Plans

The RAND Institute for Civil Justice: 40th Anniversary Reflections

More Can Be Done to Save Veterans from Suicide

A Novel Approach to Helping People Returning from Prison

Turning Off Power to Combat Wildfires Could Harm the Very People Who Need Protection

Uncovering the Links Between Fires and Public Health in Equatorial Asia

The Science of Climate Policy: Q&A with Benjamin Preston

Synthetic Opioid Crisis Still Growing, Often Among Unwitting Users

How High-Quality Mental Health Care Improves Veterans' Lives

New Data on How We're Measuring a Culture of Health

'Stand Your Ground' Laws May Be Causing More Harm Than Good

We Built an App to Detect Areas Most Vulnerable to Life-Threatening Haze

Connect

Contact Us

I am interested in

Follow

Stay Informed

Resources

Site Information