Richard J. Murnane
Juliana W. and William Foss Thompson Research Professor of Education and Society, Harvard University
Research Associate, National Bureau of Education Research
Chapter Member: Boston SSN
Areas of Expertise:
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About Richard
Murnane’s current research examines the roles of Massachusetts community colleges in providing students with the skills and credentials needed to thrive in changing labor markets. His past research examined the impacts of technological changes on the wages of American workers, the impact of changes in the economy on trends in income inequality, and trends in private school enrollments. Murnane is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Education and is a Fellow of the Society of Labor Economists.
Contributions
Making Sense of Trends in U.S. High School Graduation
Key Findings Brief,
How Computers are Transforming American Jobs
Key Findings Brief,
In the News
Research discussed by , in "Have the Robots Come for the Middle Class?," Washington Post, July 12, 2013.
Opinion: "Are Public-Service Subsidies Good for the Public?," Richard J. Murnane (with ), Education Week, July 14, 2010.
Opinion: "When 19 Heads are Better than One," Richard J. Murnane (with ), Education Week, December 7, 2005.
Opinion: "The Increasing Role of the GED in American Education," Richard J. Murnane (with ), Education Week, May 3, 2000.
Opinion: "Test Scores are a Poor Way to Evaluate Classroom Performance. How to Judge Teachers," Richard J. Murnane, Boston Globe, January 28, 1999.
Opinion: "Money's Only One Lure to Would-Be Teachers," Richard J. Murnane, Boston Sunday Globe, July 12, 1998.
Opinion: "Recent Job Gains Conceal a Harsh Truth," Richard J. Murnane (with ), New York Times, December 12, 1993.
Opinion: "Why Money Matters Sometimes: A Two-Part Management Lesson from East Austin, Texas," Richard J. Murnane (with ), Education Week, September 11, 1996.
Publications
"Restoring Opportunity: The Crisis of Inequality and the Challenge for American Education" (with ) (Harvard Education Press, forthcoming).
Explains how increases in family income inequality have reduced opportunities for children from low-income families to obtain the skills needed to thrive in a rapidly changing U.S. economy and describes interventions in the domains of early childhood, elementary school, high schools, and family supports that have proven effective in increasing the life chances of low-income children. The book concludes with a description of building blocks for making such interventions part of the life experiences of more low-income children.
"Brief of Economists and Professors as Amici Curiae Supporting Plaintiff-Appellants, Gary B. v. Snyder, 2:16-cv-13292," United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit , November 26, 2018.
Supports law case demanding that State of Michigan ensure that Detroit students receive evidence-based literacy instruction at the elementary and secondary level.
"U.S. High School Graduation Rates: Patterns and Explanations" Journal of Economic Literature 51, no. 2 (June 2013): 370-422.
Describes six key patterns in U.S. high school graduation rates and the evidence explaining the patterns.
"Dancing with Robots" (with ) (Third Way Foundation, 2013).
Discusses the profound impact that advances in computerization are having on modern life while detailing how technological change has created dislocations in the labor market, especially the elimination of routine-cognitive and routine-manual tasks that provided work for generations of high school graduates.
"Methods Matter: Improving Causal Inference in Educational and Social Science Research" (with ) (Oxford University Press, 2011).
Uses numerous examples of high-quality studies that have evaluated the causal impacts of important educational interventions to describe new analytical methods in detail; also discusses the controversies surrounding each study, and provides heuristic explanations that are broadly accessible.
"The New Division of Labor: How Computers are Creating the Next Job Market" (with ) (Princeton University Press, 2004).
Explains how computer-based technological changes have altered the skills that American workers need to earn a good living.