Featured Pardee RAND Research

Pardee RAND students and faculty — and even some alumni — contribute to RAND research. This page features selected reports and projects to which the Pardee RAND community has contributed.

Assessing Health Services and Primary Care Research
Jul 19, 2021

RAND reviewed federally-funded health services and primary care research, making recommendations for maximizing outcomes and future investments to better serve the needs of a complex and rapidly changing U.S. health care system.
From Hermit Kingdom to Open for Business
May 25, 2021

When the situation in North Korea becomes conducive to foreign investment and development, what might it take to kick-start the country's economy? Students Diana Myers and Noah Johnson explored this question with professors Krishna Kumar and Troy Smith.
Urban and Rural Districts Show Strong Divide During the Pandemic
May 11, 2021

As of February 2021, only 17 percent of urban school districts—compared with 42 percent of rural districts—were offering fully in-person instruction. Students Melissa Kay Diliberti and Lisa Berdie worked with colleagues to consider the implications of this disparity.
Stress-Testing California's COVID-19 Reopening Strategy
May 10, 2021

States' reopening plans vary widely. With a revised RAND decision support tool and using California as an example, students Pedro Lima and Lawrence Baker, along with Pardee RAND faculty, tested alternative plans. The best strategies did not prematurely relax measures like indoor mask-wearing; began with a high level of caution; were tied to vaccination rates; and made changes gradually.
Use of Tobacco Products Among Unaccompanied Youth Experiencing Homelessness
May 5, 2021

To understand patterns of use and interest in quitting different types of tobacco products among youth experiencing homelessness, a RAND team surveyed these youth in Los Angeles County to inform efforts to reduce their use of tobacco products.
Machine Learning Can Detect Online Conspiracy Theories
Apr 29, 2021

As social media platforms work to prevent malicious or harmful uses of their services, an improved model of machine-learning technology can detect and understand conspiracy theory language. Insights from this modeling effort can help counter the effects of online conspiracies.
Seeking COVID-19 Exit Strategies for Reopening California
Apr 27, 2021

Students Pedro Lima and Lawrence Baker (cohort '19) worked with Pardee RAND faculty using simulation models and the Robust Decision Making (RDM) approach to stress-test California's reopening strategy and other alternatives. They found that adaptive plans that respond aggressively to initial outbreaks are required to control the pandemic.
Responsible Space Behavior for the New Space Era
Apr 26, 2021

The early space domain was dominated by two superpowers. Today, the world has more than 60 spacefaring nations, multiple commercial space operators, and a global economy that is inextricably linked to space. Student Katie Feistel and her colleagues in the RAND Space Enterprise Initiative say now is the time to develop responsible space norms.
Societal Impact of Research Funding for Women's Health
Apr 22, 2021

An examination of the impact of increased funding for research on Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease-related dementias in women, conducted by students Annie Chen and Hamad Al-Ibrahim, and alum Denise Quigley, showed that small investments in women's health research can yield large gains, including benefits above investing in general research.
Reducing Hospital Spending: Three Policy Options
Apr 21, 2021

Alum Jodi Liu (cohort '12), student Nabeel Qureshi ('18), and colleagues summarize the spending impact of policy options to reduce hospital prices paid by private health plans, outlining design choices and effectiveness levels for each approach.
Changing the Subject: K–12 Teachers' Use of and Access to Science-Specific Instructional Materials
Apr 21, 2021

Preparing students for careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields requires coordinated support for science instructors. To what extent are teachers using self-created or non-curriculum materials as part of their main science instructional materials?
Reducing Rework in Officer Appointment Processes
Apr 19, 2021

Appointment scrolls are required for initial appointment of officers and for reappointment in a different grade, military service, or component. But the appointment and promotion scrolling process takes time. What improvements could increase the efficiency of these processes?
How Are Teachers Educating Students with Disabilities During the Pandemic?
Apr 8, 2021

Students Katie Feistel and Heather Gomez-Bendana examined how remote and hybrid learning can present particular challenges to students with disabilities (SWD) and their teachers. Nearly two in five teachers said that their schools offered alternative instructional arrangements for SWD during the pandemic, but this was less common in majority non-White and high-poverty schools.
Increasing Aircrew Flight Equipment Personnel Proficiency
Mar 17, 2021

The Air Force Aircrew Flight Equipment (AFE) specialty plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety of aircraft pilots, other aircrew, and special warfare operators. What is the full range of possible causes for proficiency problems among AFE personnel?
Water Planning for the Uncertain Future
Mar 8, 2021

James Syme (cohort '18) and alumni David Groves ('01) and Edmundo Molina-Perez ('11) conducted seven case studies focusing on the western United States and Mexico to develop an interactive tool that provides information about decisionmaking under deep uncertainty (DMDU) methods—specifically, Robust Decision Making (RDM).
Vaccine Hesitancy Is High Among Black Americans, Including Health Care Workers
Mar 1, 2021

Lower vaccination rates among Black Americans would further widen COVID-19 inequities in diagnosis, hospitalization, and mortality. But research by Priya Gandhi (cohort '20) and colleagues finds that concerns about vaccine safety, mistrust of the government's transparency around COVID-19, and beliefs about racism in health care are contributing to mistrust of the vaccine.
Teachers' Lesson Modifications for Students with Disabilities
Feb 23, 2021

Modifications to curricula and lesson plans can help reduce some of the learning barriers that students with disabilities often face. What proportion of teachers substantially modify their lessons to make them more appropriate for students with disabilities?
Stress Topped the Reasons Why Public School Teachers Quit, Even Before COVID-19
Feb 22, 2021

When asked why they left the profession, former teachers cited stress twice as often as insufficient pay, according to research by student Melissa Diliberti (cohort '19). Most former teachers took jobs with less or equal pay, and 3 in 10 without health insurance or retirement benefits.
Equipping the 21st Century Marine Corps
Feb 18, 2021

The United States Marine Corps has implemented some proactive measures to respond to global events and crises. One such measure is deploying task-organized units, also referred to as provisional units. How do these provisional units currently source personnel and equipment requirements?
Setting U.S. Hospital Prices Could Cut Overall Health Spending by Billions
Feb 18, 2021

Price regulations face political obstacles and have been strongly opposed by medical providers. But alum Jodi Liu (cohort '12) and student Nabeel Qureshi ('18) find that setting prices for all commercial health care payers could reduce hospital spending by $61.9 billion to $236.6 billion a year if the rates were set at 100 to 150 percent of the amounts paid by Medicare.
Primary Care Productivity
Feb 17, 2021

To advance understanding of primary care clinic productivity, Annie Brothers (cohort '18) and her coauthors reviewed relevant literature and convened a diverse set of stakeholders to explore definitions of productivity, input, and output in primary care; identify relevant tools; and establish consensus on key aspects of primary care productivity.
Fighter Basing Options to Improve Access to Advanced Training Ranges
Feb 5, 2021

The U.S. Air Force has determined that its fighter pilots do not currently have sufficient access to training ranges that are capable of representing advanced potential adversaries. What squadron restationing and range upgrade policies maximize access to advanced training ranges?
Comparing National and International Approaches to COVID-19 Measures
Jan 29, 2021

To track how well different countries and U.S. states are responding to the pandemic—and to make valid cross-country and cross-state comparisons of key outcomes—uniform measures are needed. Hamad Al-Ibrahim (cohort '18), Joan Chang ('18), and RAND colleagues evaluated the comparability of commonly used COVID-19-related measures and make recommendations for the use and development of measures that would allow for more standardized and valid comparisons.
U.S. Prescription Drug Prices Are 2.56 Times Those in Other Countries
Jan 28, 2021

Prices for prescription drugs in the United States in 2018 were 256 percent of those in 32 comparison countries, according to research by Alejandro Becerra-Ornelas (cohort '17) and Mahlet Tebeka ('17). For brand-name drugs, U.S. prices were 344 percent higher. But for generic drugs, they were only 84 percent of the average paid in other nations.
Analysis of Global Management of Air Force War Reserve Materiel to Support Operations in Contested and Degraded Environments
Jan 14, 2021

The Air Force's current system of war reserve materiel management is positioned more for efficiency than effectiveness. What do case studies reveal about the trade-offs and best practices for a centralized versus decentralized management approach?