Blog Posts by Pardee RAND Faculty

AI, ChatGPT, and Language as Technology: Q&A with William Marcellino

William Marcellino, a senior behavioral and social scientist at RAND and professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, discusses the rapidly expanding reach of artificial intelligence, the challenges it could pose for both society and policymakers, and how the research community is poised to help.

Earthquake in Turkey, Syria: Insights from Pardee RAND Faculty

Thousands of people have been confirmed dead in one the strongest earthquakes to hit Turkey and Syria in the past century. As search-and-rescue missions ended and recovery began, Pardee RAND faculty and RAND researchers shared some of their initial thoughts.

Understanding Russia's Motivations, and Using Them

The concept of ontological security could help explain Putin's war on Ukraine and his regime's reasoning, write Khrystyna Holynska (cohort '20) and Professor Pauline Moore. It's about maintaining a continuous sense of self, and in this case, of state identity. Putin may have deemed the invasion necessary to maintain a sense of continuity and order, where order is Russia's continued adversarial relationship with the West.

Khrystyna Holynska, Pauline Moore

Embracing Intrinsic Cultural Advantages in Innovation

The United States has long enjoyed the benefits of novel technology, but it could lose ground soon as other countries advance. Will Shumate and Tim Marler ask, could it be time for the United States to embrace the advantages in innovation that it holds relative to near-peers like China?

Will Shumate, Timothy Marler

Rebuilding Ukraine

As Khrystyna Holynska (cohort '20) and professors William Courtney and Howard Shatz write, by leveraging better investment conditions and reforms and broad international support, Ukraine could carry out a well-executed reconstruction program. It might repair much of the war damage and help Ukraine move into the ranks of faster-growing European economies.

William Courtney @courtneywmh, Khrystyna Holynska, et al.

Student, Prof Consider Continuity of Government in Ukraine

To reduce the risks of government collapse, Ukraine's leadership might accelerate preparations to ensure the continuity of government. Some steps are doubtless underway but out of public view, write student Khrystyna Holynska and Prof. William Courtney.

William Courtney @courtneywmh, Khrystyna Holynska

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, write Karishma Patel (cohort '17) and Prof. Michelle Miro, but also on carefully developing, investing, and tracking projects against the larger goal of climate resilience.

Karishma V. Patel, Michelle E. Miro

Malaria Vaccine May Not Eliminate Need to Combat Counterfeit Medicines

The newly announced malaria vaccine could be a critical tool to combat the tremendous socioeconomic burden malaria causes. But Professors Krishna Kumar, Todd Richmond, and Samantha McBirney argue that global achievements in reducing malaria cases and deaths in the past decades may be in danger of significant reversal if the problem of counterfeiting continues.

Samantha McBirney, Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_, et al.

Married Moms Aren't Striking Workers, but They Are Saying the Same Thing

If we are in the middle of a labor shortage, recruiting people back into the labor force is key to sustaining a recovery. Prof. Kathryn Edwards says the historic work choices of married mothers reveal a lot about what might lure people back into the workforce, especially when—even if they want the income—there are competing forces at play.

Kathryn A. Edwards

Tech Assets Might Help Make Public Health Data More Equity-Centered

The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified broad societal inequities and trained a spotlight on the strengths and weaknesses of the U.S. public health system. Tara Blagg (cohort '19) and professors Doug Yeung and Chris Nelson ask, what would more equity-centered, tech-engaged public health data look like?

Douglas Yeung @DouglasCYeung, Christopher Nelson, et al.

Platforms Should Use Algorithms to Help Users Help Themselves

Social media users generate massive volumes of content, which then spreads at extraordinary speeds. Yet platforms generally rely on a slow process of human moderation to remove prohibited content. Student Hilary Reininger and Prof. Christopher Paul ask, What if moderation could happen before the content is even posted?

Christopher Paul, Hilary Reininger

Biden's Proposed New Health Agency Would Emphasize Innovation. Here's How It Might Work

President Biden has proposed a new health agency modeled on DARPA to work on groundbreaking research. This agency could pursue the kind of high-risk research that can lead to high-reward results and help get more medical treatments to market sooner.

Luke Muggy, Catherine C. Cohen, et al.

Will the United States Declare Freedom from COVID-19 Too Soon?

Pardee RAND students Lawrence Baker and Pedro Lima, and professors Jeanne Ringel and Rafael Vardavas, used their COVID-19 model to analyze what could happen with COVID-19 deaths in the United States if restrictions all go away on July 4. Here's what they saw: Fully reopening the economy before Biden's vaccination target was met doubled the average number of COVID-19 deaths between Independence Day and the end of the year.

Lawrence Baker, Pedro Nascimento de Lima @PedroNdeLima, et al.

Should Mothers Work? We've Been Asking the Wrong Question

As schools and day cares closed due to the pandemic, millions of women were driven from the labor market. What is it worth to the United States to have mothers in the workforce?

Kathryn A. Edwards

Shared Prosperity: The Crying Need for Inclusive Globalization

The disaffection of a wide swath of the American population has been linked to the political polarization of the country, as well as its divisive tendencies, writes Prof. Krishna Kumar. While globalization is not the only reason for this disaffection, it is an apt lens through which to view the revolt against elitism, expertise, and changing demographics.

Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_

Had We Planned Better for a Pandemic, We Might Be More Free Today

The COVID-19 pandemic has made Americans less free, confining us to our homes, and separating us from the people we love and things we value doing. Tim McDonald (cohort '16) and professor Robert Lempert say this COVID-19 experience may help people to learn the importance of planning to preserving and expanding freedom in an interconnected and complex world.

Robert J. Lempert @RobertLempert, Tim McDonald

Prof Examines the Racial Disparity in Unemployment Benefits

Today's unemployed inherited a system of state policies that were set up in the 1930s, writes Prof. Kathryn Edwards. For decades there have been calls to reform unemployment insurance; this is one more reason. Economic racial inequality in America cannot be solved through unemployment insurance, but it certainly shouldn't be exacerbated by it.

Kathryn A. Edwards

Balancing Public Health and Economic Effects of Physical Distancing: Q&A with Jonathan Welburn

Prof. Jonathan Welburn, an operations researcher at RAND, has spent years studying how economic shocks ripple outward like a contagion through the economy. He recently worked with fellow professors and several Pardee RAND students to develop an online tool that policymakers can use to manage the public health and economic trade-offs of physical-distancing policies.

Prof Describes a Tale of Two Americas

While a confluence of crises have spotlighted a dangerous divide, writes Prof. Krishna Kumar, inequality in the United States has been increasing for decades and cannot be undone in a hurry. There is no substitute for firm policy commitment over many years to address disparities in the basic aspects of life—education, health, jobs, financial and business participation, and justice.

Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_

College in America Could Be Changed Forever

COVID-19 is threatening to upend the models that both public and private higher education depend on in the United States, write Professors Charles Goldman and Rita Karam. As universities consider whether to postpone in-person classes until next year, many parents and students may be questioning the value of a traditional higher education.

Charles A. Goldman, Rita T. Karam

Prof: COVID-19's Depletion of Entry-Level Summer Jobs Can Have Long-Lasting Effects for Young Workers

Summer is typically a time when employment for young workers is at its highest, but one of the many costs of the COVID-19 pandemic is lower employment rates. For young workers, writes Prof. Matthew Baird, it's not just an issue of lost wages this summer; there is also an effect on their personal job history moving forward.

Matthew D. Baird

A Path to Recovery from COVID-19 for Small Businesses

The COVID-19 pandemic has hammered small businesses around the United States. Student Diana Gehlhaus Carew (cohort '15) and professors Richard New and Howard Shatz spoke with 21 small business owners to learn more about the challenges they are facing and how they might best be helped.

C. Richard Neu, Diana Gehlhaus, et al.

Prof: The Dangers of Designating Antifa as a Terrorist Organization Now

In May, President Trump said that the United States would designate Antifa as a terrorist organization. As Prof. Heather Williams writes, designating Antifa may be intended to be a discrete act, but the precedent it would set could bring major strategic changes to how the United States uses counterterrorism laws, with uncertainties about whether those changes better serve national security.

Heather J. Williams @HeatherJWill

Profs: Bans on Facial Recognition Are Naïve. Hold Law Enforcement Accountable for Its Abuse

Broader police reform may be difficult to achieve, write professors Osonde Osoba and Douglas Yeung. But in the long run, it will be more effective than any specific technology ban.

Osonde A. Osoba @OsondeOsoba, Douglas Yeung @DouglasCYeung

Alum and Prof Present Options for Designing a Public Option

State and federal policymakers are considering adding state-backed public options to the individual market in an effort to expand health coverage and improve affordability. Alum Jodi Liu (cohort '12) and Prof. Christine Eibner analyzed what would happen if public options became available in U.S. health insurance exchanges.

Michael Cohen, Al Bingham, et al.