In 2017 Richard V. Burkhauser became Emeritus Sarah Gibson Blanding Professor of Public Policy in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University. Between September 2017 and May 2019 he was a Member of President Trump's Council of Economic Advisers. His professional career has focused on how public policies affect the employment and well-being of vulnerable populations. He has published widely in journals of demography, economics, gerontology as well as public policy. He is currently an AEI Visiting Scholar, IZA Research Fellow and NBER Research Associate.

Previously Burkhauser held tenured Professor positions in the Department of Economics at Vanderbilt University and Syracuse University as well as in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University. In 2010 he was the President of the Association for Public Policy and Management. He received his PhD. in Economics from the University of Chicago in 1976.