Richard Zeckhauser

Who is Richard Zeckhauser?

Richard Jay Zeckhauser is an American economist and the Frank P. Ramsey Professor of Political Economy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

He holds a BA and a PhD in economics from Harvard University. Early in his career he was one of the "whiz kids" assembled by Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara to apply cutting-edge analysis to Cold War military strategy.

He is the author or co-author of many books and articles. His most recent book, with Peter Schuck, is Targeting in Social Programs. The book examines how – and why – to deploy scarce public resources to solve public problems. While he holds no formal office he has long been an informal leader at the Kennedy School and Harvard. He is a consultant with Analysis Group.