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RAND's research on law, business, and government includes analyses of the criminal and civil justice systems, governments and political systems, international trade and economic development, and the banking and finance sectors. Notable studies have addressed the effects of gun policies in the United States and liability in the age of autonomous vehicles.

  • Overview of empty American courtroom, photo by dlewis33/Getty Images

    Report

    Promising Strategies to Support Justice-Involved Veterans

    Veterans make up about eight percent of the 2.2 million people incarcerated in U.S. jails and prisons. On top of this, an unknown number of veterans have had contact with the criminal justice system. What policies and programs can better support these individuals?

    Jun 12, 2023

  • Two women attending a group therapy session attentively listen to a fellow attendee share her feelings and experiences. Photo by Gunnar Svanberg Skulason / Getty Images

    Research Brief

    Diversion Instead of Courts: Improving Outcomes for People Arrested for Low-Level Crimes

    The Manhattan District Attorney's Office invested $7.76 million in Project Reset, a program to divert adults arrested for low-level crimes into community-based support programs and out of the court system. Among the key findings were improved arrest outcomes for participants and no increase in rearrests.

    May 16, 2023

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Explore Law and Business

  • An Algerian corvette fires a Chinese-made anti-ship missile, photo by Hakim Djebbour/Wikimedia (CC by 4.0)

    Tool

    Mapping Chinese and Russian Military and Security Exports to Africa

    Military weapons exports and private military and security contractors are important tools for projecting a country's influence around the world. How have China and Russia employed these tools across Africa in recent years?

    Dec 13, 2022

  • A U.S. Coast Guard cutter underway

    Report

    Improving Precommissioning Assignments and Readiness on the U.S. Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter

    Researchers identified approaches the U.S. Coast Guard could take to improve crew satisfaction with precommissioning assignments on offshore patrol cutters and overall fleet readiness, then evaluated the options using five criteria.

    Dec 13, 2022

  • Amber Howell, left, and Henrietta Johnson assist students with Play-doh projects at one of the Child Development Center's art stations at Anniston Army Depot, photo by U.S. Army

    Report

    Evaluation of Flexible Spending Accounts for Active-Duty Service Members

    This report presents an analysis of the implications of flexible spending accounts for active-duty service members and their families that would allow pre-tax payment of dependent care expenses, insurance premiums, and out-of-pocket medical expenses.

    Dec 12, 2022

  • RAND Weekly Recap

    Blog

    The Racial Wealth Gap, the Effects of Long COVID, Teacher Diversity: RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on understanding the racial wealth gap, why long COVID may threaten the U.S. economy, what prevents people of color from becoming and staying teachers, and more.

    Dec 9, 2022

  • Black couple holding sold sign sitting on porch of a house, photo by valentinrussanov/Getty Images

    Commentary

    To Help African Americans Gain Generational Wealth, Look to the Housing Market

    African American families have significantly less wealth than White families, even after reaching the middle class. Home ownership is, for the vast majority of Americans, the primary vehicle for accruing wealth, and passing it down through generations. This is a crucial time for policymakers to consider policies that focus on improving home ownership rates for African Americans.

    Dec 7, 2022

  • Kathy Spencer sorts the dozens of pills she must take since contracting COVID-19 in November 2020, in Kensington, Connecticut, January 11, 2022, photo by Mark Mirko/TNS/ABACA via Reuters Connect

    Commentary

    Long COVID Is a Mass Disability. The Labor Market Is in Denial

    Forget the work-from-home revolution or quiet quitting: The COVID-19 pandemic's biggest impact on the U.S. labor market will be as a mass disability event. It's a shock that the economy is not well prepared to handle.

    Dec 7, 2022

  • Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory module is shown attached to the International Space Station

    Multimedia

    The Future of Space Cooperation Between the U.S. and Japan

    Over two days in March 2022, experts from the United States and Japan presented their vision for the future of space science and exploration, cooperation between the U.S. and Japan, and the future space economy.

    Dec 7, 2022

  • Illustrations of a black woman and a tree representing wealth, illustration by Pete Soriano, from Atlas Illustrations and dar/Adobe Stock

    Report

    Accounting for Black-White Wealth Differences

    Wealth accumulation is not solely determined by a person's choices and ability. Many factors affect individual wealth, including parental income, credit, and systemic discrimination. These factors have a cumulative effect and can lead to persistent disparities over generations.

    Dec 7, 2022

  • Journal Article

    Journal Article

    'Security Is a Prerequisite for Development': Consensus-Building Toward a New Top Priority in the Chinese Communist Party

    Chinese Communist Party leaders conducted an internal debate over whether economic development should remain the Party's top priority. As of 2020, the Party embraced a new guiding principle elevating security interests alongside economic growth.

    Dec 7, 2022

  • Illustrations of a black woman and a tree representing wealth, illustration by Pete Soriano, from Atlas Illustrations and dar/Adobe Stock

    Report

    Examining the Loss of Wealth and Downward Mobility of African Americans

    Black children who grow up in middle-class households are less likely than white children who grow up in middle-class households to replicate their parents' socioeconomic status. What key factors contribute to this disparity?

    Dec 7, 2022

  • Illustrations of a black man and a tree representing wealth, illustration by Pete Soriano, from Atlas Illustrations and dar/Adobe Stock

    Report

    Overcoming Compound Racial Inequity

    Differences in Black and white Americans' economic status show how the harms of the past—slavery, segregation, discrimination—live on in the present. Could wealth allocations help to close the racial wealth gap?

    Dec 7, 2022

  • News Release

    News Release

    Americans' Spending Declines Consistently After Age 65; Finding Applies Broadly Across All Wealth Groups

    Americans' personal spending drops consistently after age 65, both among the affluent and those with lower levels of financial resources. The findings contradict traditional wisdom that spending will be constant or even increase during older age, and suggests that individuals and couples could spend more early in retirement.

    Dec 7, 2022

  • A man's profile in front of an abstract image of branches and hundred dollar bills, illustration by Kekeli Sumah/RAND Corporation, from Andre Hunter/Unsplash and Pete Soriano/RAND Corporation, from Atlas Illustrations/Adobe Stock and dar/Adobe Stock

    Project

    Investigating the U.S. Racial Wealth Gap

    The gap in wealth between Black and white Americans is a product of historical realities that continue to shape economic outcomes. Policy interventions to address current wealth disparities must understand the long-standing inequities that contributed to them.

    Dec 6, 2022

  • Asian senior man and woman at the beach at sunrise, photo by glowonconcept/Getty Images

    Report

    Americans' Spending Declines Consistently After Age 65

    Americans' personal spending drops consistently after age 65, both among the affluent and those with lower levels of financial resources. The findings contradict traditional wisdom that spending will be constant or even increase during older age, and suggests that individuals and couples could spend more early in retirement.

    Dec 5, 2022

  • RAND Weekly Recap

    Blog

    Protests in China, Negotiating with Russia, L.A.'s 'Mansion Tax': RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on protests in China amid the government's zero-COVID policy, the potential harm in negotiating with Russia, building more affordable housing in Los Angeles, and more.

    Dec 2, 2022

  • A pedestrian passes a help wanted sign in the door of a hardware store in Cambridge, Massachusetts, July 8, 2022, photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters

    Commentary

    How COVID-19 Transformed the Jobs Market

    The COVID-19 pandemic initially devastated the U.S. economy. It also exposed and exacerbated existing inequities in society. But in as yet unpredictable ways, it may have accelerated profound changes in how labor works today.

    Dec 1, 2022

  • People hold white sheets of paper in protest over COVID-19 restrictions in Beijing, China, November 27, 2022, photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters

    Commentary

    Five Factors to Watch as the Chinese Communist Party Faces Protests

    It may be too soon to compare protests against China's zero-COVID policy to the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement. However, looking back to 1989 can still provide valuable insights into what might happen next.

    Nov 30, 2022

  • Railway workers repair the tracks damaged by Russian shelling in the northern direction, Kharkiv Region, northeastern Ukraine, November 25, 2022, photo by Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Ukrinform/Abacapress.com via Reuters

    Commentary

    Politics of Ukrainian Reconstruction

    When fighting subsides, Ukraine may undergo reconstruction on the scale of the post–World War II Marshall Plan. Debate is ramping up about core issues, such as the scope of reconstruction, sources of funding, and reforms needed for success. Ukraine and the West might begin now to forge consensus on these issues.

    Nov 30, 2022

  • The Central Intelligence Agency flag displayed onstage during a national security conference in Washington, D.C., October 27, 2015, photo by Yuri Gripas/Reuters

    Commentary

    Intelligence Work Is Exciting. And Traumatizing

    The intelligence community needs to communicate to its workforce about the varied forms of trauma, how it affects individuals, and what resources exist to help. Protecting the intelligence workforce can help protect us all.

    Nov 30, 2022

  • U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer readies himself for the tie-down evolution in deck landing qualification exercises.

    Research Brief

    Activities and Results from U.S. Coast Guard Project Evergreen V

    This brief summarizes the findings of U.S. Coast Guard Project Evergreen V, part of a long-term strategic planning effort to identify emerging challenges and future trends that might alter demand for missions and the ability to perform them.

    Nov 30, 2022

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