Rick Harbaugh is an economist, as is his wife…and brother…and two sisters-in-law…and one brother-in-law.
“Perhaps gene therapy can save the next generation,” jokes Harbaugh, who joined IU’s staff in 2004 after teaching at Yale School of Management and Claremont McKenna College. His wife got a job as a professor in Kelley’s finance department; the following year BEPP offered Rick a job also.
“It’s very hard for academic couples to get jobs in the same city, much less the same university, so this was probably the single nicest and most important thing anyone has ever done for me,” says Harbaugh. He has taught a range of classes at IU, including Internet Economics, Chinese Economy, Managerial Economics for Kelley Direct, Game Theory for undergrad, MBA, and PhD, and Capstone in Economic Consulting. This fall he’ll teach economics in the MBA core.
Harbaugh’s original plan was to study Chinese economic reforms. After college he went to China and Taiwan to learn more. While studying for a Master’s in Economics at National Taiwan University, he took a game theory class and got hooked.
Years ago, Harbaugh wrote a book for Chinese learners called Chinese Characters: A Genealogy and Dictionary. He started his Chinese dictionary website Zhongwen.com in 1996, which for a long while was the web’s most popular site for learning Chinese.
“I keep planning to get back to studying China, but I’m always trying to finish some economics theory paper that takes me forever,” he says.
Most of his research is on game theory models of communication. His most popular academic publications are “Too Cool for School? Signaling and Countersignaling” and “Persuasion by Cheap Talk.”
“The first paper develops a model of showing off by not showing off,” says Harbaugh. “In fact, I’m the world’s leading expert on understatement. The second one develops a model of credible exaggeration.”
Rick Harbaugh
Harbaugh’s twins will be entering high school this fall after learning online all last year.
“I always tell myself how lucky I am that my family is healthy and we have stable jobs, but this year I really, really feel it,” says Harbaugh, who notes that being on the other side of Canvas following their classes was a real eye opener.
“Teachers should finish grading faster, be clearer about deadlines, and never give anything less than an A,” he says. “I promise to be better now.”
Five years ago, his family moved next to the university to better enjoy Bloomington’s amazing campus.
“This year I had a great time riding my Onewheel electric skateboard around our empty campus,” says Harbaugh. “It’s so much fun, but I hope it’s banned before I hurt myself.”
Vacant campus skateboard rides aside, we’re all looking forward to a bustling campus in the fall after the surreal year we navigated during the pandemic.
“I’m amazed at how smart and hard-working our Kelley students are and how every year they keep getting better,” says Harbaugh. “I was also so impressed with how the IU students, who were mostly too young to be at serious risk from COVID-19, were so careful—not for their own safety but to keep their parents, grandparents, and even professors safe. Everyone says Gen Z is a very pro-social generation and it really is. I’m so glad my kids are growing up to be part of this generation.”
Harbaugh points out that America has turned into a gerontocracy where the average age of politicians and CEOs keeps rising.
“Our economy needs more competition from young entrepreneurs and new immigrants who have innovative ideas and the energy to make them happen,” says Harbaugh. “That’s always been the secret to America’s success and the sooner Gen-Z takes over, the better.”
Leave a Reply