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.

Student-Alumni Research Finds Unintended Consequences of Policies that Punish Pregnant Women for Substance Use
Nov 13, 2019
Joshua Russell-Fritch (cohort '16), alum Bradley Stein ('97), and RAND colleagues found that state policies that punish pregnant women for illicit substance use are associated with higher rates of infants being born with opioid withdrawal.
Student Helps Create Database of Web Tools to Fight Disinformation Online
Nov 12, 2019
Hilary Reininger (cohort '16) and RAND researchers created a database of web tools that aim to fight the spread of disinformation. These include fact-checking tools, bot detectors, media literacy applications, and more.
Student-Alum Research Finds Australia Is Not Prepared to Deliver an Alzheimer's Treatment
Nov 11, 2019
As in other countries, the Australian health care system has limited capacity to rapidly move a future treatment for Alzheimer's disease from approval into wide clinical use. Sangita Baxi (cohort '17) and Jodi Liu ('12) find that could leave thousands of older people without access to transformative care if such a breakthrough occurs.
Alumni, Students Explore Next-Generation Wargaming for the U.S. Marine Corps
Oct 16, 2019
The U.S. Marine Corps has an opportunity to adopt wargaming best practices, tools, and approaches from other sources and adapt them to suit its needs. Yuna Wong (cohort '00), Ellie Bartels ('15), and Benjamin Smith ('15) explore what courses of action the Marine Corps should take toward building its next-generation wargaming concept.
Are States Using Cyber Operations to Coerce Others?
Sep 17, 2019
Cyber operations have become another tool of statecraft. Have any cyber operations sponsored by Russia, China, Iran, or North Korea met the definition of cyber coercion? Krystyna Marcinek (cohort '17) and colleagues explore this question and consider what the United States should do to respond.
How Big Is the U.S. Market for Cannabis, Cocaine, Heroin, and Meth?
Aug 20, 2019
Americans spent about $150 billion on cannabis, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine in 2016, according to research by alum Greg Midgette (cohort '09), student Steve Davenport ('15), and professor Beau Kilmer. The cannabis market was roughly the size of the cocaine and meth markets combined.
Assessing IRB Perspectives Before Implementation of the Revised Common Rule
Jul 26, 2019
Student Alexandra Mendoza-Graf (cohort '16) and colleagues surveyed institutional research board (IRB) chairs, administrators, and members, as well as principal investigators, to obtain baseline information on their demographics and attitudes about their IRB's efficacy and efficiency and the likely effects of proposed changes to the Revised Common Rule.
Identifying High-Performing Health Systems
Jul 24, 2019
When it comes to identifying high-performing health systems, alum Cheryl Damberg (cohort '89) finds, what you measure and how you measure it matters.
Evaluation Shows Pilot Study Helped Identify Needs and Recommendations to Improve Health and Reentry Services
Jul 24, 2019
Individuals returning to the community from jail often face difficulties accessing services that improve reentry and reduce recidivism. Gabriela Armenta (cohort '15) and RAND colleagues reviewed a pilot study in Los Angeles County, the Co-Design of Services for Health and Reentry (CO-SHARE), that encouraged returning individuals and service providers to collaborate on improving health and reentry services.
Is Canada Prepared to Meet Demand for Alzheimer's Treatment?
Jul 18, 2019
If a treatment to slow the progression of Alzheimer's became available in 2021, hundreds of thousands of patients in Canada could progress to Alzheimer's dementia while on wait lists unless health care capacity is increased. Student Sangita Baxi (cohort '17) and alumni Jodi Liu ('12) and Jakub Hlavka ('14) explore challenges and suggest potential solutions.
Improving the Child Welfare System to Respond to the Needs of Substance-Exposed Infants
Jul 17, 2019
To realize the gains envisioned by recent legislation, alum Bradley Stein (cohort '97) says the Administration and Congress should prioritize additional funding to modernize our child welfare system to meet the unique needs of families affected by substance misuse.
When an Autonomous Vehicle Is Hacked, Who Is Liable?
Jul 12, 2019
Hacks on autonomous vehicles could lead to deaths, property destruction, ransomware attacks, or data theft. Maya Buenaventura and Pavan Katkar (both cohort '14) worked with RAND colleagues to explore several scenarios that illustrate the policy challenges facing the civil legal system, insurers, and others.
Addressing the Challenges of Algorithmic Equity
Jul 11, 2019
Social institutions increasingly use algorithms for decisionmaking purposes. Luke Irwin (cohort 16) and colleagues explored how different perspectives on equity or fairness inform the use of algorithms in the context of auto insurance pricing, job recruitment, and criminal justice.
Do Educators Have What They Need to Teach Students with Disabilities?
Jun 27, 2019
To serve students with high-incidence disabilities, teachers need a supportive school culture, collaboration and planning time, resources and training, access to data, and tools for using data. Rachel Perera (cohort '16) and colleagues analyzed survey data that sheds light on the extent to which these supports are available to general and special educators in U.S. schools.
Designing a Capability Development Framework for Australian Home Affairs
Jun 24, 2019
Australia's Department of Home Affairs is responsible for domestic security, law enforcement, migration, and the movement of goods across Australia’s borders. Alum Jon Wong (cohort '12) and colleagues analyzed which capability development lifecycle management framework best suits the department's needs for an enterprise-level approach to investment decisions.
Cyberspace as a Military Domain: Lessons for NATO
Jun 20, 2019
In 2016, NATO identified cyberspace as a new operational domain. Bilyana Lilly (cohort '16) and RAND colleagues asked what steps the alliance has taken since then to bolster its cyber capabilities and what are the greatest challenges that still lie ahead.
Reviewing Funding Formulas for State Grants
Jun 19, 2019
Students Meg Chamberlin (cohort '14) and Nima Shahidinia ('16) worked with RAND researchers to analyze the formulas for distributing funds to states under three block grants for services related to mental health, substance abuse, and homelessness (unchanged since 1992), to determine whether they should be modified.
Secondary Educators Consider Discipline Reform a Priority
Jun 13, 2019
One quarter of principals and 31 percent of teachers surveyed identified discipline reform as one of the top three most important interventions needed in their secondary schools, according to research by Rachel Perera (cohort '16). Principals and teachers in high-poverty schools were more likely than those in low-poverty schools to do so.
Sexual Minority Disparities in Opioid Misuse
Jun 12, 2019
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults, particularly bisexual women, are at significantly higher risk than heterosexuals for prescription opioid misuse and heroin use, according to research by alum Bradley Stein (cohort '97). Disparities in rates of opioid misuse among LGB adults are concerning given elevated risks of overdose.
Local Effort Reduces Homelessness and Use of City Services
Jun 5, 2019
A program that provided people experiencing chronic homelessness with housing, health care, and other services helped them get off the streets and reduced spending on public services, such as emergency medical care. Student Karishma Patel (cohort '17) helped to evaluate the program.
Ethics in Scientific Research
Jun 5, 2019
An analysis by student Carlos Ignacio Gutierrez (cohort '13), Prof. Tepring Piquado, and several RAND colleagues examines how ethics are created, monitored, and enforced, finds which ethical principles are common across scientific disciplines, explores how these ethics might vary geographically, and discusses how emerging topics are shaping future ethics.
Facts vs. Opinions: How the News Is Changing in the Digital Age
May 14, 2019
Technology has transformed how people get information. But it has also affected the way that information is produced, shared, and disseminated. Students Steven Davenport (cohort '15), Shawn Smith ('17), and Mahlet Tebeka ('17) worked with professors Jennifer Kavanagh and William Marcellino to investigate how much the presentation of news has actually changed over the last three decades.
Spending Estimates Under Medicare for All
Apr 10, 2019
Under a Medicare for All plan similar to some proposals being discussed in Congress, alum Jodi Liu (cohort '12) and Prof. Christine Eibner calculate that total health expenditures would be an estimated 1.8 percent higher in 2019, relative to the status quo. While this is a small change in national spending, the federal government's health spending would increase substantially, rising by an estimated 221 percent.
Principal Pipelines Benefit Students and Reduce Principal Turnover
Apr 8, 2019
Six urban districts implemented principal pipelines, a strategic approach to the hiring, preparation, evaluation, and support of school leaders. Student Emilio R. Chavez-Herrerias (cohort '14) found that the efforts were feasible, affordable, and effective. The schools not only outperformed comparison schools in both math and reading, but they also improved principal retention.
Alum Examines Why Women Leave the Coast Guard, and What Could Encourage Them to Stay
Mar 29, 2019
Women leave the Coast Guard at higher rates than men. Through focus groups, alum David Schulker (cohort '07) uncovered concerns about work environment, career issues, and personal life matters. More inclusive personnel policies could help the Coast Guard address these concerns and retain more women.

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