Professor, Economics
School of Social Sciences

Economic History, Macroeconomics, Great Depression, Industrial Revolution, Property Rights and Economic Development

Gary Richardson's Google site

Gary Richardson's Web Page at the NBER

Google Scholar for Gary Richardson

For academic distinctions, please see my Google Site at https://sites.google.com/uci.edu/gary-richardson/bio

Professor Richardson's research focuses on several areas. One is the history of the Federal Reserve, particularly its role as a lender of last resort during financial crises such as those that occurred in 1930 through 1933 and 2007 through 2009. A second is the causes and consequences of financial crises, particularly the banking panics of the Great Depression. A third is the how changes in institutions, particularly property rights, influenced the Industrial Revolution in Britain. A fourth is the organization and agriculture in early modern Europe and the connection between social, religious, and industrial change.

For awards and honors, please see my Google Site at https://sites.google.com/uci.edu/gary-richardson/bio

My research spans several broad topics in economics and history. One is how central banks, financial networks, and commercial banks influence the economy. A related line of research examines the causes and consequences of the Great Depression of the 1930s and particularly the financial panics which transformed an otherwise ordinary contraction into the deepest downturn in modern world history. Another related line of research examines the positives and negatives of central bank and financial regulatory independence. Two is the impact of property rights and economic development, with an emphasis on England before and during the Industrial Revolution. Three is the role of religion and culture on the organization of economic activity in late medieval and early modern Europe.

My Ph.D. in Economics is from U.C. Berkeley.

My B.A. in Political Science is from the University of Chicago.

From 2012 to 2016, I served as the first official Historian of the Federal Reserve System.

For publications, please see my Google Site at https://sites.google.com/uci.edu/gary-richardson/bio

Historian of the Federal Reserve System,
Federal Reserve System 2012—2016

Faculty Research Associate
National Bureau of Economic Research 2009

Economist, Research Department
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond 2014—2016

Link to this profile
https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=4750

Last updated
08/27/2025