Blog Posts by Pardee RAND Faculty

Platforms Should Use Algorithms to Help Users Help Themselves
Jul 20, 2021
Christopher Paul, Hilary Reininger

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?
Biden's Proposed New Health Agency Would Emphasize Innovation. Here's How It Might Work
May 24, 2021
Luke Muggy, Catherine C. Cohen, et al.

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.
Will the United States Declare Freedom from COVID-19 Too Soon?
May 21, 2021
Lawrence Baker, Pedro Nascimento de Lima @pedrolima_n, et al.

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.
Should Mothers Work? We've Been Asking the Wrong Question
May 10, 2021
Kathryn A. Edwards @keds_economist

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?
Shared Prosperity: The Crying Need for Inclusive Globalization
Feb 23, 2021
Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_

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.
Had We Planned Better for a Pandemic, We Might Be More Free Today
Sep 4, 2020
Robert J. Lempert @RobertLempert, Tim McDonald

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.
Prof Examines the Racial Disparity in Unemployment Benefits
Jul 15, 2020
Kathryn A. Edwards @keds_economist

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.
Balancing Public Health and Economic Effects of Physical Distancing: Q&A with Jonathan Welburn
Jul 13, 2020

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
Jul 9, 2020
Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_

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.
College in America Could Be Changed Forever
Jul 7, 2020
Charles A. Goldman, Rita T. Karam

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.
Prof: COVID-19's Depletion of Entry-Level Summer Jobs Can Have Long-Lasting Effects for Young Workers
Jul 6, 2020
Matthew D. Baird

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.
A Path to Recovery from COVID-19 for Small Businesses
Jun 25, 2020
C. Richard Neu, Diana Gehlhaus, et al.

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.
Prof: The Dangers of Designating Antifa as a Terrorist Organization Now
Jun 22, 2020
Heather J. Williams

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.
Profs: Bans on Facial Recognition Are Naïve. Hold Law Enforcement Accountable for Its Abuse
Jun 17, 2020
Osonde A. Osoba @OsondeOsoba, Douglas Yeung @DouglasCYeung

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.
Alum and Prof Present Options for Designing a Public Option
May 28, 2020
Michael Cohen, Al Bingham, et al.

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.
Alum and Prof: Emergency COVID-19 Aid Helps College Students with Food and Housing
May 26, 2020
Lindsay Daugherty, Drew M. Anderson @DrewMAnderson

The COVID-19 pandemic has expanded the pool of cash-strapped college students, but many were already struggling. Alum Lindsay Daugherty (cohort '05) and Prof. Drew Anderson say the crisis could draw attention to food and housing insecurity among college students, and give college leaders a chance to consider how to address these needs more systematically over the long-term.
Modeling the Future of COVID-19: Q&A with Pardee RAND Faculty
May 26, 2020

The phrase “flatten the curve” familiarized millions of Americans with epidemiological models used to estimate virus transmission, cases, and potential deaths from COVID-19. But Profs. Jeanne Ringel and Raffaele Vardavas say new models are needed as the country enters a different stage of the crisis, one in which changed behaviors must be taken into account.
Profs: Relaxing COVID-19 Restrictions Presents Stark Health and Economic Choices
May 18, 2020
Jeanne S. Ringel @JeanneRingel, Raffaele Vardavas, et al.

RAND's new publicly available COVID-19 interventions impact tool uses epidemiological and economic models and continually refreshed data to estimate what could happen as restrictions are eased. Professors Ringel, Vardavas, and Strong say the tool—which they developed with the help of five Pardee RAND students—cannot make the choices confronting state leaders less painful, but it can provide clear evidence-based estimates of the health and economic trade-offs.
Profs: Blueprint Needed for a Post-Vaccine World
May 11, 2020
Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_, Mahshid Abir, et al.

When a COVID-19 vaccine is developed, many in rich countries may be able to afford it while the poor and uninsured may not. In poor countries, most people won't be able to pay. Professors Krishna Kumar and Chris Nelson say the time to plan for equitable access, financing, intellectual property rights, and global production is now.
Prof Asks, Is the Unemployment Rate Now Higher Than It Was in the Great Depression?
May 7, 2020
Jeffrey B. Wenger, Kathryn A. Edwards @keds_economist

The extent of COVID-19's effect on the labor market will be catastrophic for many workers and businesses, writes Prof. Kathryn Edwards. Matching the unemployment rate peak set by the Great Depression is a possibility, but reaching this unfortunate milestone is not necessary to establish the historic nature of the downturn we are living through today.
Prof: Jumpstarting the U.S.-Japan-Korea Trilateral Amid COVID-19
May 6, 2020
Scott W. Harold @ScottWHarold

Since roughly 2012, South Korea–Japan ties have frayed over tensions between the two countries. Prof. Scott Harold asks, could the United States use its relationships with Japan and South Korea to encourage trilateral medical cooperation during the pandemic, ensure that the Tokyo Olympic Games are held, and in so doing help support healing in the relationship between Seoul and Tokyo?
Prof Explores Use of Non-Emergency Medical Transportation
May 5, 2020
Laura Fraade-Blanar, Christopher M. Whaley @cm_whaley

More widespread availability of rideshare for non emergency medical transport may save lives, reserve emergency resources for those who need them and provide safe pathways to primary care for the chronically ill, writes Prof. Christopher Whaley. It could also save livelihoods, providing employment in a time of economic hardship.
Student and Profs: How America Can Begin Building a System of Health
May 4, 2020
Tim McDonald, Christopher Nelson, et al.

COVID-19 is shining a harsh spotlight on long-recognized but under-addressed gaps in the U.S. health system, write Tim McDonald (cohort '16) and Profs. Christopher Nelson and Laurie Martin. As the nation moves quickly to respond, it could begin by engaging in the work of designing, defining, and building a System of Health.
Profs: How to Feed the Needy and Protect Workers on the Front Lines
Apr 30, 2020
Andrea Richardson @ASRichardson3, Tamara Dubowitz @TamaraDubowitz

The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented in modern times and access to food could be critical to getting through it. Professors Andrea Richardson and Tamara Dubowitz say local leaders and policymakers could find themselves having to devote new resources to make sure all citizens have access to food and to protect those on the front lines.
The Unintended Consequences of a Proposed Cure for COVID-19
Apr 29, 2020
Samantha McBirney, Sangita M. Baxi @sangitabaxi, et al.

The very discussion of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as therapeutic options against COVID-19 has decreased their availability for proven treatments, exacerbated global shortages, fueled an already rampant counterfeit drug market in Africa, and worsened trade tensions. Student Sangita Baxi (cohort '17) and professors Krishna Kumar and Todd Richmond ask, What can be done to deal with the unintended consequences caused by the elevated profile of these drugs?