Richard Hornbeck is the Dunwalke Associate Professor of American History in the Economics Department at Harvard University. His 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. History helps to understand what is both universal and unusual about the modern economy, so history continues to provide new economic lessons even as research builds on the work of those who have come before. Richard received his PhD in economics from MIT in 2009, and a BA in economics from the University of Chicago in 2004.
