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Faculty Fellow

Richard Hornbeck

V. Duane Rath Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business University of Chicago

Biography

Richard Hornbeck is an economic historian and applied-micro economist whose research focuses on the historical development of the American economy. He views history as informing why some places and some people have become wealthier while others have remained poorer, which can provide perspective on what factors might drive widespread improvements in living standards. His published research includes articles in the American Economic Review, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and the Journal of Political Economy. He is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, affiliated with programs on the Development of the American Economy, Development Economics, and Environmental and Energy Economics.

Featured Project

Wires and Rails

2017 – 2018

Projects

Working Group on Comparative Economics

Working Group on Comparative Economics

This group convened to discuss the comparative economic and historical analysis of societies, identifying ways that economic tools and analysis can advance historical research on the ancient world.

Emerging around a coalescence of research interests in the comparative economic analysis of historical societies from ancient times to the modern period, the Working Group on Comparative Economics brought together faculty from Classics, Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations, Anthropology,...