Blog Posts by Pardee RAND Students

Amplifying Teachers' Voices: Q&A with Ashley Woo

Ashley Woo, an assistant policy researcher at RAND and a Ph.D. candidate at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, aims to bring teachers' perspectives into policymaking. In this interview, she discusses her research on teachers' responses to state restrictions on how they can address topics related to race and gender in the classroom.

Whether Democracy Is Eroding or on the Upswing Depends on What State You Live In

Voter laws, civic education opportunities, and trust in government are all important aspects of democracy that impact individuals' civic participation. If policymakers had better ways to measure and monitor this “civic infrastructure” beyond just voter turnout, a different, more complicated but complete picture of our democracy would likely emerge.

Melissa Kay Diliberti, Julia H. Kaufman @juliahkaufman

Keeping Teachers of Color in the Classroom Will Take More Than a Pay Raise

All students—but particularly Black and Latinx students—benefit academically and socially from having teachers who are people of color. Policymakers and education leaders can help these teachers stay in the profession by making teaching more financially sustainable and fostering collegial relationships within school communities.

Elizabeth D. Steiner @ED_Steiner, Ashley Woo, et al.

Politics of Ukrainian Reconstruction

When fighting subsides, Ukraine may undergo reconstruction on the scale of the post–World War II Marshall Plan. Debate is ramping up about core issues, such as the scope of reconstruction, sources of funding, and reforms needed for success. Ukraine and the West might begin now to forge consensus on these issues.

Howard J. Shatz @HowardJShatz, Khrystyna Holynska, et al.

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

How Russia's Nuclear Double Cross of Ukraine Teaches Dangerous Lessons

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the West's support for Kyiv has been tempered by an ace up Vladimir Putin's sleeve: the potential use of nuclear weapons. But Khrystyna Holynska says other countries are taking notice, which could imperil world stability even further.

Polina Sinovets, John V. Parachini @JohnParachini, et al.

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 for a Changing Climate

When the war in Ukraine ends, the country will in all likelihood undergo a massive reconstruction. Ukraine could rebuild in a way that would both lower its carbon footprint and construct infrastructure resilient to the effects of climate change.

Mark Stalczynski, Ismael Arciniegas Rueda, et al.

The Metaverse: What It Is and Is Not

The metaverse is quickly expanding, but its meaning remains unclear. Until an agreement on a definition of “metaverse” is reached, efforts to manage the technology development and related public policy could be muddled at best.

Swaptik Chowdhury, Timothy Marler

Qatar: Challenges and Successes in COVID-19 Pandemic Response

Qatar adopted a spectrum of policies and health measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 and encouraged its innovation ecosystem to play a role in fighting the pandemic. The health sector has gained experience during the pandemic that might inform response to future spikes in demand for health system resources.

Hamad Al-Ibrahim, Nazia Wolters, et al.

How Could the United States Incentivize Investors to Decarbonize the Economy?

While mandatory climate-related disclosure may improve information and decisionmaking for investors, it alone is unlikely to accelerate investment in decarbonization at the rate needed. To motivate private investment in climate mitigation, policymakers could explore additional policies.

Ismael Arciniegas Rueda, Nihar Chhatiawala, et al.

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.

A Promising Era for Women of Color in U.S. Elections, but Gains in Broader Workplace Leadership Remain Elusive

Women of color remain significantly underrepresented in workplace leadership and along the promotion pipeline in comparison to white women, as well as to black and white men. Zara Fatima Abdurahaman (cohort '21) asks, How much more work needs to be done to achieve the combination of race and gender equity in leadership?

Zara Fatima Abdurahaman

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

Two Choices in Ukraine

Khrystyna Holynska (cohort '20) and Amb. William Courtney write that, facing existential risk, Ukraine may take urgent measures to help protect itself against a Russian invasion. And if the immediate threat were to ebb, Ukraine might use the time gained to prepare for potential future threats.

William Courtney @courtneywmh, Khrystyna Holynska

To Help Climate Migrants, We Must First Recognize Them

Despite the large and growing population displaced by extreme weather, there is no common definition of a “climate migrant.” Once we get a clearer sense of just who is a climate migrant, writes Jay Balagna (cohort '20), policy efforts should begin focusing on the full fabric of life in our communities, creating systems that will help migrants become a part of that fabric in safe and dignified ways.

Jay Balagna, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg @aclarkginsberg, et al.

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

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

If green bonds are a viable tool to reduce emissions and adapt infrastructure to the effects of climate change, David Catt (cohort '16) and Nihar Chhatiawala ('20) ask, how can governments encourage the issuance, sales, and growth in the share of green bonds in the total bond market?

David Catt, Nihar Chhatiawala, et al.

Green Bonds Can Leave Issuers in the Red

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.

Brian Wong, Ismael Arciniegas Rueda

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

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, Jay Balagna (cohort '20) says 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.

Jay Balagna, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg @aclarkginsberg

The Compounding Effects of Racism: Q&A with James Anderson, Rachel Perera, and Heather Gomez-Bendaña

Students Rachel Perera and Heather Gomez-Bendaña are working with RAND colleague James Anderson to create an interactive tool that illustrates how the effects of bias compound over time. Their aim is to improve understanding of how seemingly small disparities can add up to create significant inequality.

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.

China Is Organizing the VR Industry. The United States Could Do the Same

Given the potential value of virtual reality (VR) as a tool—and the increasing competition from China—the United States could focus more energy on advancing VR in a coordinated fashion. Otherwise, Will Shumate (cohort '20) and Prof. Timothy Marler write, America risks missing an opportunity to excel internationally with a valuable and broadly applicable emerging technology.

Will Shumate, Timothy Marler

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

The fire seasons that have been scorching huge areas and wiping entire towns from the map appear to be the future. Jay Balagna (cohort '20) says that 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.

Jim Whittington, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg @aclarkginsberg, 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