RAND Social and Economic Well-Being Commentary

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

Childhood Trauma
Childhood Trauma Is More Common Than You Think. This School-Based Intervention Can Help
Apr 23, 2019
A program developed at RAND helps children exposed to trauma confront and subdue their stress and anxiety. The program grew out of the 1990s street violence of South Los Angeles and has since helped kids from Newtown to Fukushima. Researchers are tailoring this intervention for children in Puerto Rico whose lives were upended by hurricanes.
Social and Emotional Learning
What Two New Studies Reveal About Restorative Justice in Middle School
Apr 17, 2019
Joie D. Acosta, Catherine H. Augustine, et al.
There are many nuances to the implementation and impact of restorative practices. This suggests that continued experimentation could allow school districts to realize the benefits of instituting these practices and reduce the cost of doing so.
Opioids
A Holistic Approach to Solving the Opioid Crisis
Apr 15, 2019
While federal, state and, local governments deploy strategies to tackle the opioid crisis, the problem continues to proliferate. RAND researchers suggest that these strategies fail to solve the larger problem because they've largely been developed in silos. The opioid crisis is an ecosystem, and mitigating the problem will require a holistic approach.
Neighborhood Influences on Health
Pittsburgh's Hill District Is Losing More Than a Supermarket
Apr 1, 2019
Tamara Dubowitz @TamaraDubowitz, La'Vette Wagner
When the Shop 'n Save in Pittsburgh's Hill District closed its doors for good, residents lost the ability to go to a supermarket near their homes. But they also lost something less tangible: a symbol of hope, opportunity, and change for their neighborhood.
Water Resources Management
How to Ensure Quality Drinking Water Service for All? One Option Is Fewer Utilities.
Mar 26, 2019
David Catt, Michelle E. Miro, et al.
California's Human Right to Water Bill declares that “every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.” One clear barrier to reaching this target is the sheer number of small water utilities that pose service sustainability and public health risks to their customers.
Refugees
Economic Burden or Opportunity? How Syrian Refugees Can Contribute to Local Economies
Mar 25, 2019
Fadia Afashe, Louay Constant
The influx of refugees escaping the war in Syria has placed an enormous economic burden on the countries that host them. Despite the challenges, host countries have an opportunity to capitalize on the presence of refugees to grow their own economies for the mutual benefit of all.
Water Resources Management
How Water Systems Can Learn From Smart Electric Grids
Mar 22, 2019
Jalal Awan, Michelle E. Miro, et al.
As drought and population growth place increasing pressure on water supply, the need to save and efficiently manage Southern California's water resources becomes increasingly critical. A single information and communication technology platform could go a long way toward moving water utilities from reactive to proactive maintenance practices.
Autonomous Vehicles
Why AV Safety and Cybersecurity Need to Be Pursued in Tandem
Mar 20, 2019
Marjory S. Blumenthal @marjorysb
Safety and cybersecurity are generally pursued by separate teams within autonomous vehicle companies. A joint approach to standards could optimize safety and cybersecurity and reduce overall risks to autonomous vehicle operation.
Artificial Intelligence
The Promise and Perils of AI: Q&A with Douglas Yeung
Feb 27, 2019
Douglas Yeung, a social psychologist at RAND, discusses how any technology reflects the values, norms, and biases of its creators. Bias in artificial intelligence could have unintended consequences. He also warns that cyber attackers could deliberately introduce bias into AI systems.
Global Climate Change
Resilience and Adaptation Strategies Can Address the Impacts of Climate Change
Feb 26, 2019
With climate change already generating storms, heat waves, and droughts beyond historical norms, local governments need to do more to prepare. A decisionmaking framework developed by RAND allows communities to stress-test ideas, weigh the trade-offs, and plan for a range of possible futures.
Illegal Drugs
Opioids and a Crisis of Unintended Consequences
Feb 20, 2019
David Powell
The pain medicine OxyContin was reformulated in 2010 to make it more difficult to crush or dissolve. But this had unintended consequences, including a rise in hepatitis C infections as drug abusers switched from taking OxyContin to injecting heroin.
Transportation Safety
How to Make Roads Safer for Autonomous Vehicles
Feb 6, 2019
Laura Fraade-Blanar
No matter how much developers test autonomous vehicles, the world will still present unforeseen circumstances for vehicles to navigate. Roadways and vehicle design could be modified to better accommodate both human error and the shortcomings of autonomous vehicle systems.
United States
State of the Union: Insights from RAND
Feb 6, 2019
To shed light on a wide range of topics that figured in President Trump's second State of the Union address, we've rounded up insights from some of RAND's objective and nonpartisan research, analysis, and expertise.
Cybersecurity
Developing an Objective, Repeatable Scoring System for a Vulnerability Equities Process
Feb 5, 2019
Sasha Romanosky
If governments seek to create an objective framework for decision making about whether or when to disclose software vulnerabilities, what might that look like? What questions should be included, how should they influence the outcome and how can one interpret the results?
Global Climate Change
Triaging Climate Change
Jan 23, 2019
Benjamin Lee Preston @bl_preston, Johanna Nalau
There are many opportunities to manage climate risk around the world, but not everything can be saved. Delaying triage of climate damages could leave societies making ad hoc decisions instead of focusing on protecting the things they value most.
Social and Emotional Learning
The Impact of Restorative Practices
Jan 17, 2019
John Engberg, Catherine H. Augustine
A recent RAND report focuses on estimates of the impact of restorative practices on comprehensive outcome measures for all students. The report defines these measures in seven outcome domains and leads with the impact on suspensions. It estimates the impact on 50 secondary measures and on the seven primary measures for numerous student subgroups defined by race, income, special needs and English language learner status.
Artificial Intelligence
Does the United States Face an AI Ethics Gap?
Jan 11, 2019
Benjamin Boudreaux
Instead of worrying about an artificial intelligence “ethics gap,” U.S. policymakers and the military community could embrace a leadership role in AI ethics. This may help ensure that the AI arms race doesn't become a race to the bottom.

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Researcher Spotlight

Jordan R. Fischbach

Codirector, RAND Climate Resilience Center

Jordan Fischbach is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation and codirector of the RAND Climate Resilience Center. He is a leader in climate adaptation, water resources management, and coastal planning. Fischbach has expertise in risk analysis, exploratory simulation modeling, and…

Deborah A. Cohen

Senior Physician Policy Researcher

Deborah Cohen is a senior physician policy researcher at the RAND Corporation and member of the Pardee RAND Graduate School faculty. 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…

Fostering Skills and Creating New Pipelines for Military Service

Principals Are More Optimistic Than Teachers About School Improvement Plans

The U.S. and Iran: Beyond the Rhetoric

Vietnam Is the Chinese Military's Preferred Warm-Up Fight

The United States and Europe Since World War II: A Mutually Beneficial Partnership

The Policy Currents Podcast

Measuring Wellbeing to Help Communities Thrive

Impact Dashboard Helps Local Regulatory Services Deliver Value

Improving Access to Early Childhood Education

Addressing the Invisible Wounds of War

RAND Social and Economic Well-Being Commentary

Childhood Trauma Is More Common Than You Think. This School-Based Intervention Can Help

What Two New Studies Reveal About Restorative Justice in Middle School

A Holistic Approach to Solving the Opioid Crisis

Pittsburgh's Hill District Is Losing More Than a Supermarket

How to Ensure Quality Drinking Water Service for All? One Option Is Fewer Utilities.

Economic Burden or Opportunity? How Syrian Refugees Can Contribute to Local Economies

How Water Systems Can Learn From Smart Electric Grids

Why AV Safety and Cybersecurity Need to Be Pursued in Tandem

The Promise and Perils of AI: Q&A with Douglas Yeung

Resilience and Adaptation Strategies Can Address the Impacts of Climate Change

Opioids and a Crisis of Unintended Consequences

How to Make Roads Safer for Autonomous Vehicles

State of the Union: Insights from RAND

Developing an Objective, Repeatable Scoring System for a Vulnerability Equities Process

Triaging Climate Change

The Impact of Restorative Practices

Does the United States Face an AI Ethics Gap?

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