Richard Zeckhauser

Richard Jay Zeckhauser (born 1940) 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 (summa cum laude) 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, an incisive examination of how — and why — to deploy scarce public resources to solve public problems. While he declines most offers of formal authority he has long been an important informal leader at the Kennedy School and Harvard, especially with respect to the development of younger scholars. He is a consultant with Analysis Group.

Bridge career

Zeckhauser is a champion bridge player.

Wins

• North American Bridge Championships (2)
  • Blue Ribbon Pairs (1) 1966
  • Mixed Pairs (1) 2007

Runner-ups

• North American Bridge Championships (2)
  • Men's Board-a-Match Teams (1) 1968
  • Mixed Board-a-Match Teams (1) 2003

Works

• Zeckhauser, Richard (2006) "Investing in the Unknown and Unknowable", Capitalism and Society: Vol. 1 : Iss. 2, Article 5. DOI: 10.2202/1932-0213.1009
• Schuck, Peter H. & Zeckhauser, Richard J. Targeting in Social Programs: Avoiding Bad Bets, Removing Bad Apples, Brookings Institution Press, 2010, ISBN 9780815704287
• Zeckhauser, Richard, Strategy and choice, MIT Press, 1991, ISBN 9780262240338
• Zeckhauser, Richard, Keeney, Ralph L., Sebenius, James K. Wise choices: decisions, games, and negotiations, Harvard Business Press, 1996, ISBN 9780875846774

External links

• NBER Publications by Richard J. Zeckhauser
• Richard Zeckhauser's Home Page