Richard Curtin (economist)

Richard T. Curtin is an American economist, academic and researcher. He is a Research Professor and has been the Director of Consumer Sentiment Surveys at University of Michigan since 1976.

Curtin has directed the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment surveys since 1976. The surveys are focused on innovation regarding the conceptualization, measurement, and selection of important economic topics, along with the data analysis.

After completing his doctoral studies from University of Michigan in 1975, Curtin started at the University of Michigan as an Assistant Research Scientist and was later - promoted to Associate Research Professor, and then to Research Professor.

Curtin also conducted research regarding macroeconomy. Conventional theory holds that the consumer plays no independent role in whether the recession or growth of the economy. Orthodox theory holds that the consumer cannot directly cause recessions since consumer behavior is completely determined by other economic factors, such as wages, prices, interest rates, and the like. According to Curtin, economics have ignored the fact that consumers have generally invested as much or more than business in new plants (houses) and equipment (vehicles, durables, etc.) to improve output (living standards). He found that consumer investments accounted for 12.2% of GDP from 1930 to 2019 compared with 11.2% among business firms over the same period. His study also indicated that changes in consumer spending generally occurred before changes in business investments. Curtin has argued that it is much more likely that it is prospects for consumer demand that motivates firms to invest and produce, and that this line of causation is more consistent with economic theory.