Richard Zeckhauser

Frank Plumpton Ramsey Professor of Political Economy
Harvard Kennedy School
Office Address
Littauer-312
Mailing Address
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Mailbox 41
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact
Phone: 617-495-1174
Fax: 617-384-9340
Email: richard_zeckhauser@Harvard.Edu
Assistant
Wendy Wyatt (617-495-1175)
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Profile

Richard Zeckhauser is the Frank P. Ramsey Professor of Political Economy. Much of his conceptual research examines possibilities for democratic, decentralized allocation procedures. Many of his policy investigations explore ways to promote the health of human beings, to help markets work more effectively, and to foster informed and appropriate choices by individuals and government agencies. He teaches an advanced course in analytic methods, the Ph.D. writing seminar, and chairs the annual executive program on Investment Decisions and Behavioral Finance. He has been elected as a fellow of the Econometric Society and the American Academy of Sciences and as a member of the Institute of Medicine (National Academy of Sciences). He has come first (Mixed Pairs, 2007), second (Mixed Teams, 2003), and third (Open Pairs, 2004) in recent national contract bridge championships. He serves as a Trustee for The Commonwealth School and as a member of NBER, the Russell Sage Roundtable in Behavioral Economics, the Academic Advisory Committee, American Enterprise Institute, and the OECD High Level Advisory Board on Large-Scale Catastrophes. His latest book, with Peter Schuck, is Targeting in Social Programs: Avoiding Bad Bets and Removing Bad Apples. His forthcoming book, with Jonathan Nelson, is The Patron's Payoff: Conspicuous Commissions in Renaissance Italy. He holds a BA (summa cum laude) and a PhD in economics from Harvard University.

Courses

Fall

  • API-302 Analytic Frameworks for Policy
  • API-902 Doctoral Research Seminar

Media Expertise

Richard Zeckhauser welcomes media inquiries on the following subjects:

Additional experts may be found by clicking on each subject listed. You may contact faculty directly or if you need assistance contact the Communications Office at 617-495-1115.

Research

For a complete list of faculty citations from 2001 - present, please visit the Harvard Kennedy School Research Report Online.

Selected Publication Citations:

  • Academic Journals
    • Bobtcheff, Catherine, Christian Gollier, and Richard Zeckhauser. "Resource Allocation When Projects Have Ranges of Increasing Returns." Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 37.1 (August 2008): 1-33.
    • Sommers Benjamin D., Clair J. Beard, Anthony V. D'Amico, Irving Kaplan, Jerome P. Richie, and Richard Zeckhauser. "Predictors of Patient Preferences and Treatment Choices for Localized Prostate Cancer." Cancer 113.8 (October 2008): 2058-2067.
    • Sommers, Benjamin D., and Richard Zeckhauser. "Probabilities and Preferences: What Economics Can Teach Doctors and Patients Making Difficult Treatment Decisions." Urologic Oncology 26.6 (November 2008): 669-673.
    • Summers, Lawrence H., and Richard Zeckhauser. "Policymaking for Posterity." Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 37.2 (December 2008): 115-140.
    • Fels, Stephen, and Richard Zeckhauser. "Perfect and Total Altruism Across the Generations." Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 37.2 (December 2008): 187-197.
    • Zeckhauser, Richard, and W. Kip Viscusi. "Discounting Dilemmas: Editors' Introduction." Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 37.2 (December 2008): 95-106.
    • Frank, Richard G., and Richard J. Zeckhauser. "Health Insurance Exchanges — Making the Markets Work." New England Journal of Medicine (July 22, 2009).
  • Books
    • Avery, Christopher, Andrew Fairbanks, and Richard Zeckhauser. The Early Admissions Game: Joining the Elite. Harvard University Press, 2003.
    • Schuck, Peter H., and Richard Zeckhauser. Targeting in Social Programs: Avoiding Bad Bets, Removing Bad Apples. Brookings Institution, 2006.
    • Zeckhauser, Richard, and Jonathan K. Nelson. The Patron's Payoff: Conspicuous Commissions in Italian Renaissance Art. Princeton University Press, 2008.
  • HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series
    • Summers, Lawrence H., and Richard Zeckhauser. "Policymaking for Posterity." HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series and NBER Working Papers (RWP08-040 and 14359), August 2008.
    • Fang, Hai, Nolan Miller, John A. Rizzo, and Richard Zeckhauser. "Demanding Customers: Consumerist Patients and Quality of Care." HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series and NBER Working Papers (RWP08-042 and 14350), September 2008.
    • Sunstein, Cass R., and Richard Zeckhauser. "Overreaction to Fearsome Risks." HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP08-079, December 2008.
    • Avery, Christopher, and Richard Zeckhauser. "The "CAPS" Prediction System and Stock Market Returns." HKS Faculty Research Working Papers Series RWP09-011, April 2009.
    • Bohnet, Iris, Benedikt Herrmann, and Richard Zeckhauser. "Trust and the Reference Points for Trustworthiness in Gulf and Western Countries." HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP09-015, June 2009.
    • Tran, Anh, and Richard Zeckhauser. "Rank as an Incentive." HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP09-019, July 2009.
    • Cutler, David, Bryan Lincoln, and Richard Zeckhauser. "Selection Stories: Understanding Movement Across Health Plans." HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP09-022, July 2009.
    • Schauer, Frederick, and Richard Zeckhauser. "The Trouble with Cases." HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP09-025, August 2009.
  • Research Papers/Reports
    • Arrow, Kenneth J., William J. Baumol, Jagdish Bhagwati, Michael J. Boskin, Robert W. Crandall, Maureen L. Cropper, Michael Greenstone, Robert W. Hahn, David Harrison, R. Glenn Hubbard, Alfred E. Kahn, Robert E. Litan, Paul W. Macavoy, James C. Miller, Albert L. Nichols, William A. Niskanen, Roger G. Noll, Wallace E. Oates, Peter Passell, Sam Peltzman, Paul R. Portney, Harvey S. Rosen, Milton Russell, Thomas C. Schelling, Richard Schmalensee, Charles L. Schultze, V. Kerry Smith, Vernon L. Smith, Robert N. Stavins, W. Kip Viscusi, Lawrence J. White, and Richard Zeckhauser. "Clean Water Act Brief." Reg-Markets Center Brief 08-03, July 2008.
    • Liebman, Jeffrey, and Richard Zeckhauser. "Simple Humans, Complex Insurance, Subtle Subsidies." NBER Working Papers 14330, September 2008.