Richard A. Easterlin is currently University Professor and Professor of Economics, University of Southern California. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association. He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Econometric Society, and the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), and is a former president of the Population Association of America, Economic History Association, and Western Economic Association International.

He is the author, among other things, of Happiness, Growth and The Life Cycle (2010), The Reluctant Economist (2004), Growth Triumphant: The 21st Century in Historical Perspective (1996), and Birth and Fortune: The Impact of Numbers on Personal Welfare (1980; 2nd ed. 1987), and editor of Happiness in Economics (2002). His current research is on the association between economic growth, public policy, and subjective well-being.