All Pardee RAND students complete a policy-relevant dissertation aimed at tackling the most pressing policy issues facing the world. Many Pardee RAND dissertations are partially- or fully-funded through endowed dissertation awards and other prizes.
Dissertations by Date
2018
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Harmonizing Discretionary Policy Choice with Fiscal Rule Making: Mexico after Fiscal and Energy Sector Reforms September 14, 2018
Studies the long-term effectiveness and vulnerability of a diverse set of fiscal policies, which propose lump-sum transfers and different consumption tax exemptions.
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Choose Wisely: A Study of College Major Choice and Major Switching Behavior August 31, 2018
This dissertation explores the college major decision-making process, both for initial and subsequent major choices, and analyzes the associations between major choice behaviors and student outcomes such as time to degree and probability of graduation.
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Financial Education among Financially Vulnerable Populations in the United States August 29, 2018
Examines if state-mandated financial education improves debt-related and college-going behaviors among economically vulnerable young adults.
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Strengthening Federal Capacity to Conduct Evaluations to Inform Future R&D Program Planning June 21, 2018
This dissertation identifies for strengthening the Federal Government's capacity to evaluate its research and development programs using insights identified from philanthropic foundations.
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Three Essays on Value in Health Care: Workplace Wellness Program Return on Investment, Effectiveness of Monetary Penalties for Tobacco Cessation Non-Participation, and Physician Perceptions of Their Use of Time and Appropriateness of Care Provided June 12, 2018
This dissertation, in a three paper format, examines three policy levers for improving health care value.
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Value of Information for Policy Analysis May 15, 2018
This dissertation considers the viability of applying Value of Information methods in complex systems for policy analysis, concluding that these methods can be applied, but that different methods are appropriate in different cases.
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Finding the Force of the Future: Improving Air Force Officer Outreach through an Investigation of School and Community Attributes April 17, 2018
Seeks to improve understanding of the factors indicative of applications to the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps' High School Scholarship Program.
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Using the National Training Center Instrumentation System to Aid Simulation-Based Acquisition March 22, 2018
This dissertation uses the National Training Center instrumentation system to aid simulation-based acquisition.
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Regional Economic Growth and International Capital Flows: The Case of Ukraine February 26, 2018
This dissertation examines divergent economic paths between regions in several countries and recommends specific steps for Ukraine's regional and overall economic policy.
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The Impact of Nurse Practitioner Scope-of-Practice Regulations in Primary Care February 14, 2018
The dissertation assesses the impact of nurse practitioner scope-of-practice regulations in primary care.
2017
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Physician Professional Satisfaction, Job Role and Income in the United States January 14, 2020
Three papers covering different aspects of physicians' working lives: factors related to professional satisfaction; perceptions about administrative work; and physician job roles; and an analysis of sex differences in income.
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Increasing Access to Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorders: Estimating Costs, Supply, and the Effects of Insurance Expansions August 14, 2018
This dissertation measures access to buprenorphine, the fastest growing form of medication-assisted treatment, and the effects of demand side interventions aiming to tackle the opioid problem in America.
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Deterring Space War: An Exploratory Analysis Incorporating Prospect Theory into a Game Theoretic Model of Space Warfare December 21, 2017
This dissertation uses a game theoretic model of space war to examine how sentiments in multiple dimensions impact state decisions regarding whether to expand a ground war into the space domain.
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Labor Market Outcomes of Youth and Women in Newly Industrialized and Developing Countries December 4, 2017
This dissertation examines the effects of exogenous shocks and labor market policies on employment, wages, and human capital development of youth and women.
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I Hear What You Are Saying: Analysis of USAF Rated Officer Comments from the 2015 Military Career Decisions Survey November 20, 2017
Using data from the USAF 2015 Active Duty Career Decisions Survey, this dissertation employs a range of qualitative data analysis techniques to examine the open-ended response questions related to a pilot's decision to remain or depart the service.
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Accelerating the Transition of Technologies Created through the U.S. Department of Defense Small Business Innovation Research Program November 16, 2017
This dissertation gains to understand the contextual effects on the success of the transition of technologies generated through the U.S. Department of Defense Small Business Innovation Research program.
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Contextual Effects and Child Health and Cognition September 25, 2017
This dissertation examines how the local environment contexts contribute to children's health and cognition.
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How Transparency and Reproducibility Can Increase Credibility in Policy Analysis: A Case Study of the Minimum Wage Policy Estimate September 22, 2017
This dissertation translates to policy analysis solutions developed to address the lack of credibility in the reproducibility crisis in science.
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Role of Data in Improving Care within a Health System: A Case Study of the Australian Health System August 2, 2017
This study aims to understand how organizational context and interfaces affect the collection, management, and use of data for care improvement (CI).
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Search and Rescue in the Arctic: Is the U.S. Prepared? June 19, 2017
Explores the U.S. capability to handle the Arctic Search and Rescue (SAR) Agreement, a landmark treaty that gives the U.S. responsibility for conducting SAR in a slice of territory that surrounds Alaska and stretches to the North Pole.
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Projecting the Structure of the Air Force Civilian Workforce in Light of Concerns about a Possible Retirement Wave May 11, 2017
Explores the extent of a possible retirement wave within the Air Force civilian workforce and which areas are most likely to be affected.
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The Defense Acquisition Workforce Growth Initiative: Changing Workforce Characteristics and the Implications for Workforce Retention March 23, 2017
Examines the U.S. defense acquisition workforce growth initiative and estimates how it has influenced overall cohort-level retention rates.
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Tweeting About Mental Health: Big Data Text Analysis of Twitter for Public Policy March 20, 2017
Examines conversations and attitudes about mental health in Twitter discourse.
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Three Essays on Growth Econometrics March 15, 2017
Three essays exploring large discrepancies between different panel datasets of cross-country estimates of gross domestic product.
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Towards Effective Design and Evaluation of Workplace Wellness Programs March 2, 2017
Addresses a need in the guidance for a rapidly-expanding wellness market.