Blog Posts by Pardee RAND Faculty

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

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 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, 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?
Profs Examine Supply Chain Disruptions Due to COVID-19 and Social Distancing
Apr 28, 2020
Aaron Strong, Jonathan William Welburn @jwwelburn

The physical distancing policies put into effect in the United States to reduce the growth of COVID-19 entail significant epidemiological and economic risks and uncertainties. Professors Aaron Strong and Jonathan Wellburn have estimated the economy-wide impacts of a set of these policies to provide a sense of their likely economic toll.
Prof Examines Second Wave of COVID Consequences
Apr 24, 2020
Kathryn A. Edwards, Jeffrey B. Wenger

Economists closely watch measures of consumer confidence because they are highly predictive economic indicators. Prof. Kathryn Edwards says new consumer data reveals likely long-term and prolonged economic fallout.
Profs: Government Should Do More to Protect Household Employers and Workers
Apr 23, 2020
Shanthi Nataraj @ShanthiNataraj, Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_

As the federal government extends aid to people put out of work by the COVID-19 pandemic, professors Shanthi Nataraj and Krishna Kumar write, it could do more to help one group of employers and the vital American workers they employ: hundreds of thousands of nannies, housekeepers, and others employed in private homes.
Prof: Can We Emerge from COVID-19 with a Healthier Work Culture?
Apr 16, 2020
Bobbi Thomason, Heather J. Williams

American families want greater choices in determining how their work and their families fit together. Post-pandemic, can we create a system that fits workers? If so, Prof. Heather Williams says we have the opportunity to emerge from this crisis with both healthier employees and better performing organizations.
Profs: The Important Role of Faith-Based Organizations in the Context of COVID-19
Apr 16, 2020
Kathryn Pitkin Derose, Michael Mata

Maintaining social and spiritual connections in the midst of COVID-19 are not the only challenges facing communities of faith. Prof. Kathryn Pitkin Derose and Pardee RAND Practitioner in Residence Michael Mata say congregations play critical roles in providing social services within communities.
Profs on the Danger of Converting a Health Crisis into a Financial Crisis
Apr 13, 2020
Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_, Shanthi Nataraj @ShanthiNataraj, et al.

The impulse to do something to help businesses right now is well-intended, but lending to companies that were highly leveraged pre-crisis is a risky bet, write professors Krishna Kumar, Shanthi Nataraj, and Jonathan Welburn. Assistance could be best directed toward sound enterprises that are likely to survive and contribute to boosting the economy in the coming years.
Prof on Parenting Through the Pandemic: Who's Working, Who's Caring for the Kids, and What Policies Might Help
Apr 8, 2020
Kathryn A. Edwards, Grace Evans, et al.

To help inform policy decisions that could help working parents affected by COVID-19, Prof. Kathryn Edwards examined the U.S. Department of Labor's Current Population Survey and recent coronavirus relief acts. Our review shows us what aid working parents might expect and what kinds of aid policymakers might consider going forward.
Prof Examines Emergency Homeless Services During the COVID-19 Crisis
Apr 7, 2020
Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, Sarah B. Hunter, et al.

The recently passed $2 trillion stimulus package includes a suite of measures designed to support households that are affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. But Prof. Sarah Hunter says policymakers may want to consider what protections the package offers to a particularly high-risk group: people experiencing homelessness.
Defense Budget Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Apr 7, 2020
Daniel Egel, Howard J. Shatz @HowardJShatz, et al.

The COVID-19 pandemic is taking a dramatic toll on the U.S. economy. This could have significant medium-term implications for the U.S. defense budget. The U.S. Department of Defense will need to find efficiencies that are of at least the same magnitude as the recent sequestration.
Prof: The Public Charge Rule's Likely Hazard to Our Nation's Health During COVID-19
Apr 6, 2020
Kathryn Pitkin Derose

The Public Charge rule makes immigrants who receive Medicaid and other publicly-funded benefits potentially ineligible for green cards, and, in some cases, subjects them to deportation. Prof. Kathryn Derose says fear and reluctance to seek assistance among immigrants is likely to worsen during the COVID-19 epidemic.
Prof: Millions Need Unemployment Benefits. Unfortunately, the Delivery System Is Broken
Apr 6, 2020
Kathryn A. Edwards

More than 10 million Americans filed for unemployment insurance in March as businesses closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The stimulus package passed in March enacted welcome measures to tide people over, but Prof. Kathryn Edwards says these temporary fixes don't address the structural problems that will continue to plague unemployment benefit programs after the infusion of cash runs out.
Prof: During Coronavirus Pandemic, Can Congress Members Do Their Jobs by Teleworking?
Apr 6, 2020
Quentin E. Hodgson @QHodgson

The COVID-19 pandemic presents a new challenge to how Congress conducts business, writes Prof. Quentin Hodgson. How can the United States leverage existing technologies so lawmakers can continue to work safely and securely?
Prof: After the Crisis, Should the Federal Workforce Stay Remote?
Apr 3, 2020
Kathryn A. Edwards, Melanie A. Zaber, et al.

As physical distancing becomes the new norm, so too does telework. But Prof. Kathryn Edwards and RAND colleagues ask, should federal agencies maintain their remote operations for the long haul? As those involved with national security agencies, operations, and workforce issues know, this is not a decision to make lightly.
Prof: Incarceration Rates Provide Key Measure of Health in America
Apr 3, 2020
Carolyn E. Miller, Douglas Yeung @DouglasCYeung

There's widespread agreement that incarceration has adverse effects on health and health equity, not just for prisoners but also for families and communities, writes Prof. Douglas Yeung. That's one important reason why incarceration in the United States needs to be reduced.