Richard T. Curtin,

Richard Curtin is a Research Professor at the University of Michigan and is the Director of the Consumer Sentiment Surveys at the Institute of Social Research.  His research is widely used by businesses and financial institutions, by federal agencies responsible for monetary and fiscal policies, as well as by academic researchers.  Data from the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Surveys are an official component of the Index of Leading Economic Indicators.  Data on consumer confidence is one of the most closely followed economic indicators, and findings from his research are extensively reported in the media.

Through frequent presentations and published articles, Professor Curtin has reported on his research in behavioral economics, including the theory and measurement of expectations, consumer saving and spending behavior, household income and wealth, reactions to changing economic opportunities, and public policy preferences.  He has published more than five hundred reports on trends in consumer expectations and their implications for changes in consumer spending and saving behavior.  Professor Curtin has consulted with scholars and government officials in many countries, and has helped to establish consumer sentiment surveys in China, India, Indonesia, and Russia as well as in many smaller Eastern European, Asian, Latin and South American countries.

He is a member of the American Economic Association, the National Association for Business Economics, the Association for Consumer Research, the International Association for Research in Economic Psychology, and a member of the Center for International Research on Economic Tendency Surveys. Dr. Curtin received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan in 1975.