November 2021

blog

Measuring Greenhouse Gases in Los Angeles County

Los Angeles, once the U.S. capital of smog and sprawl, has vowed to lead the nation into a cleaner, greener future by stamping out carbon pollution. A small array of sensors installed on the roof of RAND's Santa Monica headquarters could help it get there.

commentary

Nuclear Strategists Know How Dangerous the Debt Fight Is

Nuclear-war strategists' work offers a warning for Congress: The more times a game is played, the more treacherous it becomes, because when both sides believe catastrophe will always be averted in the end, each behaves more rashly. In the debt-ceiling dispute, the United States could end up defaulting precisely because each side keeps waiting for the other to blink.

Edward Geist @sovietologist

blog

U.S. 'Entanglement,' Global Health Cooperation, Community Stress: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on competing claims about U.S. partnerships and allies, responding to Russia's tactics in Ukraine, helping communities recover from stress, and more.

commentary

Why Are U.S. Veterans at Heightened Risk of Food Insecurity?

U.S. veterans are at great risk of food insecurity, but there is limited understanding of exactly how many veterans lack resources to attain adequate and nutritious food and why. If resources are to be directed more effectively, the United States needs better clarity into the magnitude of the problem.

Tamara Dubowitz @TamaraDubowitz, Andrea Richardson @ASRichardson3

commentary

More Than Green: Leveraging Green Bonds to Invest in Greater Climate Resilience

The significance of green bonds may depend not only on having a lot of them but also on carefully developing, investing, and tracking projects against the larger goal of climate resilience.

Karishma V. Patel, Michelle E. Miro

commentary

Afghan Refugees Are Being Recruited to Join an Iranian Paramilitary

As Western policymakers consider how to deal with Afghan evacuees, including former members of the Afghan security forces, they might consider how to prevent adversaries such as Iran from recruiting Afghan refugees for dangerous and destabilizing operations. Greater attention to these risks may become increasingly important as refugee flows from Afghanistan continue.

Erik E. Mueller @erikemueller, Andrew Radin @andrewmradin

commentary

The Growing Green Bond Market Could Plateau. How Can It Grow Further?

If green bonds are a viable tool to reduce emissions and adapt infrastructure to the effects of climate change, how can governments encourage the issuance, sales, and growth in the share of green bonds in the total bond market?

David Catt, Nihar Chhatiawala, et al.

commentary

Green Bonds Can Leave Issuers in the Red

To achieve the Biden administration's blueprint for solar energy and focus on climate change mitigation and adaptation, green bonds may be worth considering. But, like any other financing instrument, they may be best considered through a cost-benefit lens.

Brian Wong, Ismael Arciniegas Rueda

commentary

Global Health Data Sharing: The Case of China and the Two Coronavirus Pandemics

Tensions over the coronavirus seem to be prompting China to isolate itself in terms of data sharing. But the first coronavirus pandemic in 2003 actually helped open China to health collaborations with other countries. World leaders may be doing their citizens a disservice when they allow toxic geopolitics to undercut trust and international collaborations that took decades to build.

Jennifer Bouey @BoueyHuang

commentary

U.S. Support for European Strategic Autonomy Could Boost Transatlantic Solidarity and Security

Leaders of EU member states and institutions have recently renewed calls for Europe to assume a greater role and increased autonomy in transatlantic and global security and defense. How can Europe and the United States work together to reduce misperceptions about strategic autonomy and chart an outcome that could enhance transatlantic solidarity and security?

Stephen J. Flanagan, Lucia Retter

commentary

Reining in COVID-19 Disinformation from China, Russia, and Elsewhere

During the pandemic, misinformation and conspiracy theories have spread more virulently than ever before. The vast scale of the problem means scalable solutions like machine learning could be needed to rein in the bots, trolls, and conspiracy theories being spread by bad-faith actors.

Christian Johnson, William Marcellino

commentary

How Could the United States React to Russia's Latest Posturing on Ukraine?

Russia's military buildup along its border with Ukraine has been accompanied by dramatically tougher rhetoric in recent months. Russian President Vladimir Putin may believe Ukraine is at an inflection point and that it's time to up the ante. The risk of a major war seems real enough to justify a new U.S. approach.

Samuel Charap @scharap

blog

News Manipulation, the Risk of Civil War, Russia and Ukraine: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on tracking news manipulation during the pandemic, the threat of another civil war, preventing health insurance loss, and more.

commentary

What Does Africa Need Most Now: Russian Arms Sales or Good Vaccines?

Why is Russia's main export to Africa advanced conventional weapons at a time when other needs are so great? African leaders might think twice about aggressive Russian arms pitches and engagement of mercenaries, and prioritize measures to stem the COVID-19 pandemic and encourage economic growth.

John V. Parachini @JohnParachini, Ryan Bauer

commentary

Does Vertical Integration Improve or Imperil U.S. Health Care?

Health care consolidation is endemic across the United States. With consolidation has come public attention and regulatory scrutiny. Unfortunately, evidence is accumulating that health care consolidation is harming competition in the U.S. health care market, while neither reducing costs nor improving care.

M. Susan Ridgely