Richard Burkhauser earned his Ph.D. in economics at the University of Chicago. His professional career has focused on how public policies affect the economic behavior and well-being of vulnerable populations, e.g., older persons, people with disabilities, low-skilled workers as well as how levels and trends in income and income inequality have changed in the USA and other countries.  His books include A Challenge to Social Security: The Changing Roles of Women and Men in American Society (1982); Income Mobility & the Middle Class (AEI Studies on Understanding Economic Inequality); The Decline in Employment of People With Disabilities: A Policy Puzzle (co-edited, 2003); and The Economics of an Aging Society (co-authored, 2004).

He is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell.