Policy Currents | The newsletter for policy people
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** June 11, 2024
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Investing in Employees Can Boost Stock Performance
In 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission began requiring publicly traded companies to include information about their efforts to attract, develop, and retain workers as part of their annual disclosures. These newly mandated filings contain important nuggets about how companies are investing in people. And according to recent RAND research, this information can often predict stock performance.
RAND economists Jeffrey Wenger and George Zuo used AI to analyze SEC disclosures over more than 20 years, rate how every large public retailer disclosed investments in their frontline workers, and assessed how these data were connected to stock prices.
They found that retailers that made strong and specific disclosures about investing in workers saw their short-term stock prices increase anywhere from 2 percent (within two weeks of the disclosure) to 2.5 percent (within 30 days of the disclosure). Backing such companies could be a solid long-term play for investors, too.
The study's bottom line is clear, say Wenger and Zuo, and it should hit a nerve in today's market: "Companies that put their money where their mouth is, investing in their frontline workers, could see a nontrivial uptick in their financials if they were clearer and more direct about what they were doing."
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Federal Programs to Assist Military-to-Civilian Employment Transitions
The U.S. government offers dozens of programs to help transitioning service members and veterans find and develop fulfilling careers in civilian life. A new RAND report examines the costs and benefits of these programs. Among the key findings, most employment transition programs are actually focused on education, with very few dedicated to helping service members and veterans translate their military skills to the civilian labor market or find civilian jobs. This suggests the government could ramp up efforts that focus on employment--for instance, by investing in programs that offer personalized support to help expedite transitions. There are also opportunities to evaluate existing programs, address redundancies, and improve oversight.
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Breaking Down India's Election Results
In India's recent election, the country's ruling party--the Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP--lost its majority for the first time since 2014. Despite a less-than-stellar showing, the BJP is likely to return to power thanks to its alliances within smaller parties. In fact, these alliances may have a meaningful impact on the BJP, says RAND's Rafiq Dossani. For example, they could force the BJP to focus more on key issues such as poverty and the economy, or loosen Prime Minister Narendra Modi's grip on the party. And even though the election results mostly preserve continuity of government in India, Dossani says there was one welcome surprise: The voice of the people was heard freely.
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** RAND Recommends
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- The upcoming NATO summit in Washington, D.C., marks the 75th anniversary of the military alliance. RAND experts have been weighing in on important strategic questions related to NATO's future--and will continue to do so leading up to the historic gathering early next month.
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- RAND researchers recently designed an analytic game to help the Coast Guard plan for the future and make decisions in the face of major challenges like climate change. NPR's All Things Considered covered the exercise.
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- In the New York Times, RAND's Lori Uscher-Pines discussed the prospects of virtual doula care.
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** Events
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Policy Lab: How to Reach Policy Decisionmakers
Friday, June 21, 2024 (Online)
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