Economists at RAND
Roughly 70 economists, mostly applied microeconomists, belong to the Economics, Sociology, and Statistics Department. They allocate themselves—through an internal labor market—to hundreds of ongoing projects supported by a variety of funders, including government agencies, grant making organizations, and private foundations. Many researchers seek their own funding for their work, and resources are available for writing proposals. Some economists choose to teach or mentor PhD students through the Pardee RAND Graduate School.
Economists at RAND benefit from the depth, breadth, and diversity made possible by their numbers. RAND research is often motivated by real-world questions or problems. Researchers study a wide range of issues across multiple fields, sometimes working alone but more often collaborating with others on disciplinary or interdisciplinary teams. The research often involves developing new models or collecting data. RAND economists publish articles in academic journals, edited volumes, books, and peer-reviewed RAND reports.
Job Opportunities
For mid/senior-level economist openings at RAND, see jobs.rand.org.
Featured Research
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Higher-income American households pay the most to finance the nation's health care system, but the burden of payments as a share of income is greatest among households with the lowest incomes.
Katherine Grace Carman, Jodi L. Liu , et al.
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A new method for measuring income inequality reveals that, from 1975 to 2018, the only group for which actual income gains exceeded U.S. GDP growth was the group near the 99th percentile of income distribution.
Carter C. Price , Kathryn A. Edwards
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disparate effect on African Americans and Latino groups. But how much public awareness is there of inequities? And how has the pandemic changed perceptions of equity and access to health care?
Katherine Grace Carman, Anita Chandra, et al.
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More workers are holding multiple jobs—moonlighting or working a "side hustle"—than official estimates suggest, and the practice does effectively bring some households out of poverty.
Jennifer Scott, Kathryn A. Edwards, et al.
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For two decades after World War II, incomes grew at a rate close to the U.S. economy-wide growth rate. Anemic growth from 1969 to 1974 kept inequality in check. But since then, the benefits of growth have not been evenly distributed. Racial and gender inequality is also manifested in income inequality.
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One can think of economic competition in two broad ways. The first is competition as an outcome: the ability to boost standards of living through domestic policies. The second is competition as an action, where economic policies also pursue geopolitical goals.
Howard J. Shatz
Teaching Opportunities
There are numerous opportunities for those researchers who wish to teach. The Pardee RAND Graduate School is the world’s leading producer of Ph.D.s in policy analysis. The curriculum includes graduate microeconomics and econometrics as well as courses in applied subjects like health, organizational economics, education, and labor. RAND economists also teach courses at area universities, including UCLA.
Postdoctoral Training Opportunities
