Richard is an applied micro-economist whose research focuses on the historical development of the American economy, related often to three themes: the importance of property rights and contracting failures; market integration and agglomeration spillovers; and connections between agriculture, technology, and the environment. Rick views history as providing broader perspective on what is both universal and unusual about the modern economy: by examining the economy across historically diverse contexts, we can learn from the resulting creative economic solutions or failures. His research has been published widely, including articles in the American Economic Review, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and the Journal of Political Economy.
Prior to joining Chicago Booth in 2015, Rick was a faculty member at Harvard University. He received an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship in 2014 and was selected for the 2009 Review of Economic Studies Tour. He received a PhD in economics from MIT in 2009 and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Chicago in 2004.