About

Richard Hornbeck is a Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His research focuses on the economic history of the United States, with a particular interest in the impact of technological change, market access, and environmental shocks on economic growth and development. He has conducted extensive research on the historical evolution of the Ogallala Aquifer, the Dust Bowl, and the role of railroads in American economic growth.

Research topics

• Economics
• Business
• Demographic economics
• Geography
• Macroeconomics
• Industrial organization
• Mechanical engineering
• Archaeology
• Engineering
• Labour economics
• Mathematics
• Economic growth
• Socioeconomics
• Microeconomics

Selected publications

• The Social Construction of Race during Reconstruction

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• The Social Construction of Race During Reconstruction

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Historical Differences in Female-Owned Manufacturing Establishments: The United States, 1850–1880

  AEA Papers and Proceedings · 2025-05-01 · 1 citations

  article

  We characterize female-owned manufacturing establishments using digitized manuscripts from the US Census of Manufactures (1850, 1860, 1870, 1880). Female-owned establishments were smaller than male-owned establishments and had lower capital-to-output ratios, which could reflect more constrained financial access and other distortions. Female-owned establishments employed more women and paid women higher wages, creating a potential cycle between increased female business ownership and increased female labor market participation. Female-owned establishments concentrated in subindustries like women's clothing and millinery, which is associated with some but not all of these differences. We also show how female owners differed from other women in the Population Census.

  PublisherDOI

• Data and code for: Historical Differences in Female-Owned Manufacturing Establishments: The United States, 1850--1880

  ICPSR Data Holdings · 2025-01-01

  datasetOpen access

  We characterize female-owned manufacturing establishments using newly digitized manuscripts from the US Census of Manufactures (1850, 1860, 1870, 1880). Female-owned establishments were smaller than male-owned establishments and had lower capital-to-output ratios, which could reflect more-constrained financial access and other distortions. Female-owned establishments employed more women and paid women higher wages, creating a potential cycle between increased female business ownership and increased female labor market participation. Female-owned establishments concentrated in sub-industries like women's clothing and millinery, which is associated with some but not all of these differences. We also show how female owners differed from other women in the Population Census.

  PublisherDOI

• The Social Construction of Race during Reconstruction

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• The Social Construction of Race during Reconstruction

  National Bureau of Economic Research · 2025-02-01 · 8 citations

  reportOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Gaining Steam: Incumbent Lock-in and Entrant Leapfrogging

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2024 · 2 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Business
  • Industrial organization
  • Economics
  PublisherDOI

• Historical Differences in Female-Owned Manufacturing Establishments: The United States, 1850-1880

  National Bureau of Economic Research · 2024-06-01 · 1 citations

  reportOpen access

  We characterize female-owned manufacturing establishments using newly digitized manuscripts from the US Census of Manufactures (1850Manufactures ( , 1860Manufactures ( , 1870Manufactures ( , 1880)).Female-owned establishments were smaller than male-owned establishments and had lower capital-to-output ratios, which could reflect more-constrained financial access and other distortions.Female-owned establishments employed more women and paid women higher wages, creating a potential cycle between increased female business ownership and increased female labor market participation.Femaleowned establishments concentrated in sub-industries like women's clothing and millinery, which is associated with some but not all of these differences.We also show how female owners differed from other women in the Population Census.

  PublisherDOI

• Identifying Agglomeration Shadows: Long-run Evidence from Ancient Ports

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2024-01-01 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Identifying Agglomeration Shadows: Long-Run Evidence from Ancient Ports

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2024-01-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Railroads and American Economic Growth: New Data and Theory

  NSF · $414k · 2012–2016

Frequent coauthors

• Abhijit Banerjee

  50 shared

• Esther Duflo

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  46 shared

• Enrico Moretti

  University of California, Berkeley

  21 shared

• Michael Kremer

  University of Chicago

  11 shared

• Claudia Goldin

  Harvard University

  9 shared

• Elisabeth Perlman

  Economic History Association

  9 shared

• Lawrence F. Katz

  National Bureau of Economic Research

  9 shared

• James Feigenbaum

  National Bureau of Economic Research

  9 shared

Labs

• Richard Hornbeck LabPI

Education

• Ph.D., Economics

  University of Chicago

  1994

• M.A., Economics

  University of Chicago

  1991

• B.A., Economics

  University of California, Berkeley

  1987

Awards & honors

• Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (2014)
• Review of Economic Studies Tour (2009)