Richard Michael Scheffler (born July 11, 1943) is an American health economist whose career has focused on applying health economics to public policy both nationally and globally. He is a Distinguished Professor of Health Economics and Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) in the Graduate School of Public Health and the Goldman School of Public Policy. He is the Founding Director of the campus-affiliated, research-driven Nicholas C. Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare.Dr. Richard Scheffler. (n.d.). California Department of Insurance. Retrieved October 9, 2023, from https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0250-insurers/0500-legal-info/Centene/upload/E11-cv-Dr-Richard-Scheffler.pdf
Early life and education Scheffler was born on July 11, 1943, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York,Scheffler, Richard M. – Physician Assistant History Society®. (n.d.). Physician Assistant History Society. Retrieved June 21, 2023, from https://pahx.org/assistants/scheffler-richard-m/ with three younger sisters. He attended P.S. 202 Ernest S. Jenkyns from kindergarten to 8th grade. With an early interest in mathematics and engineering, he attended Brooklyn Technical High School, a magnet school. He earned a BS in economics from Hofstra University in 1965, an MA in economics from Brooklyn College in 1967, and a PhD in economics with Honors from New York University in 1971.
Academic career After completing his PhD, Scheffler took his first academic position in the economics department at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He was also a visiting professor at Duke University in the Department of Economics and Institute of Policy Sciences and Public Affairs. He left after four years to serve as a Scholar in Residence for the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., where he focused on applying health economics to federal health policy issues. He then taught in the economics department at George Washington University.
In 1981, Scheffler accepted a one-year visiting job at UC Berkeley which transitioned to associate professor in the Department of Social and Administrative Health Services within the School of Public Health with tenure. He went on to become a Distinguished Professor of Health Economics and Public Policy, with joint tenured appointments in the School of Public Health and Goldman School of Public Policy.
He founded the Joint Masters of Public Health and Masters of Public Policy Program at UC Berkeley in 1986. Two years later, he founded the PhD program in Health Services and Policy Analysis. This program has been ranked number two in the nation by the National Research Council.A Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States (with CD) | The National Academies Press. (2011). https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12994/a-data-based-assessment-of-research-doctorate-programs-in-the-united-states-with-cd Scheffler has served twice as Program Chair and was elected as Faculty Chair for the School of Public Health in 2012 to represent faculty in academic matters. From 1993 to 2003, he served as Program Director of the Scholars in Health Policy Research PhD program at UC Berkeley and University of California, San Francisco.University of California at Berkeley/San Francisco Program | Scholars in Health Policy Research. (n.d.). Retrieved June 28, 2023, from http://www.healthpolicyscholars.org/university-california-berkeleysan-francisco-program.html
While his professional home remained at Berkeley, Scheffler's work took him abroad. He was a Visiting Scholar at the World Bank in 2003.Richard M. Scheffler. (n.d.). The Commonwealth Fund. Retrieved June 29, 2023, from https://www.commonwealthfund.org/person/richard-m-scheffler He was also a visiting professor at the London School of Economics,Richard M. Scheffler, author at Milbank Memorial Fund. (n.d.). Milbank Memorial Fund. Retrieved October 16, 2023, from https://www.milbank.org/author/richard-m-scheffler/ the University of Pompeu Fabra (in Barcelona), the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, and Charles III University of Madrid.Richard Scheffler | UC3M. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2023, from https://www.uc3m.es/ss/Satellite/UC3MInstitucional/en/TextoMixta/1371208755550/Richard_Scheffler Scheffler was a Fulbright Scholar at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic in 1993 and at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, Chile in 2012–2013.Charles University | Fulbright Scholar Program. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2023, from https://fulbrightscholars.org/institution/charles-university He was granted the Chair of Excellence Award at the Carlos III University of Madrid in 2013.Richard M. Scheffler. (n.d.). Health Affairs. Retrieved June 29, 2023, from https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hauthor20140311.436479 In 2015, he received the Gold Medal from Charles University in Prague for his longstanding and continued support of international scientific and educational collaboration.
Scheffler received a $2 million award from the Attorney General of California to establish the Nicholas C. Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare.Attorney General Lockyer Announces Proceeds from Antitrust Settlement to be Used for Consumer Research & Advocacy. (1999, June 23). State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General. https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-lockyer-announces-proceeds-antitrust-settlement-be-used The health economics center, affiliated with UC Berkeley, conducts empirical research on healthcare markets, accessibility, quality, and affordability, especially for low-income populations. In 1999, as the Endowed Chair in Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare, Scheffler officially opened the doors to the Petris Center.
Scheffler retired from teaching in 2018, but as an Emeritus Professor he remains the Director of the Petris Center. He continues to lead research projects on private equity, public options, and market competition with the goal of influencing public policy. As an honor, the faculty established the Richard Scheffler Health Economics Award to be given annually to the student with the most outstanding Berkeley PhD dissertation in health economics.Haryanto, C. (2022, April 28). Richard Scheffler Health Economics Award Recipients 2022. The Nicholas C. Petris Center. https://petris.org/richard-scheffler-health-economics-award-recipients-2022/
Contributions and Publications Scheffler has written and edited twelve books while publishing over 300 papers. He was the sole editor of World Scientific Series in Global Health Economics and Public Policy: Volume 3 and the first of three editors of World Scientific Series in Global Health Economics and Public Policy: Volume 7. In 2025, he wrote the Foreword for The Glory of Giving Everything, a one-of-a-kind book about Taylor Swift's business model by Crystal Haryanto, which showcases how artistic success can be subjected to underlying economic principles. With over 10,000 Google Scholar citations and a Google h-index of 53, his work falls into four broad categories.
Health Workforce One of Scheffler's subfields of interest is workforce policy. In 2003, he was elected President of the International Health Economics Association (IHEA), which consists of over 2000 members from more than 60 countries, and chaired the IHEA meeting in San Francisco.“Scheffler, Richard.” Open Knowledge Repository, Washington, DC: World Bank, openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/person/cd63bd88-1872-59e8-9cd5-765938689f3a?spc.sf=popularity&spc.sd=DESC&f.subject=ACCESS+TO+HEALTH+SERVICES%2Cequals&spc.page=1. Accessed 22 Oct. 2023. Scheffler's research has centered on the financing of health systems by various countries and most recently, on workforce shortages particularly in Africa, the United States, and other OECD countries. Utilizing economic models, he has estimated the shortages and surpluses of physicians and nurses not only in the United States but also worldwide. Additionally, his work has highlighted the importance of primary care, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. He was one of the first economists to consider the effects of utilizing physician assistants in the delivery of healthcare in the United States.
Scheffler has advised a number of countries on workforce policy in regions including Peru, Chile, and Brazil as well as being a visiting scholar at the Rockefeller Foundation in Bellagio, Italy, where he wrote his critically acclaimed book Is There a Doctor in the House? Market Signals and Tomorrow's Supply of Doctors released in 2008 with Stanford University Press. Through his lens of economics and policy, he examined the components that influence the future supply of doctors across specializations and geographic regions. He then proposed a method to improve efficiency and address the doctor shortage. Scheffler also co-authored The Labor Market for Health Workers in Africa regarding the health system in Africa and launched it at the World Bank in DC.World Bank panel and book launch with Richard Scheffler, UC Berkeley Professor of Health Economics and Public Policy. (2013, December 2). Center for Global Public Health. https://cgph.berkeley.edu/world-bank-panel-and-book-launch-with-richard-scheffler-uc-berkeley-professor-of-health-economics-and-public-policy/
A followup analysis appeared in "Projecting Shortages and Surpluses of Doctors and Nurses in the OECD: What Looms Ahead" published in 2018 in Health Economics, Policy and Law. Scheffler demonstrated that without intervention, imbalances between supply and demand of doctors and nurses would surface. A shortage of nearly 400,000 doctors across 32 OECD countries and nearly 2.5 million nurses across 23 OECD countries in the year 2030 were projected.
"Forecasting imbalances in the global health labor market and devising policy responses" appeared in Human Resources for Health in the same year and applied economic models to the global shortage of health workers. For high- and middle-income countries, a shortage will arise due to demand exceeding supply. For low-income countries, the shortage will exist for both supply and demand; demand is low because these countries lack the economic means to sustainably employ health workers.
Mental Health Scheffler was recognized with the Carl A. Taube Award by the American Public Health Association in 2004 for his work on mental health economics.Awards: APHA, Faculty Research Fund, and more. (2004, September 2). UC Berkeley News. https://newsarchive.berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/2004/09/01_awards.shtml His work described the organization and financing of mental health as well as its impact on the cost, quality, and accessibility of mental health services.
Scheffler authored a book published in 2014 by Oxford Press with psychologist Stephen P. Hinshaw at Berkeley. The ADHD Explosion: Myths, Medication, Money, and Today's Push for Performance changed the way people think about the growth and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Highly cited and reviewed, it was called "…complex, thought-provoking, and urgent" by Publishers Weekly.Kelly, Claire M. (2007-07-19). "Book Review". New England Journal of Medicine. 357 (3): 311–312. ISSN 0028-4793.
He also wrote papers on the impact and growth of medication used to treat ADHD in the United States and globally. In "Positive association between initial ADHD medication use and academic achievement during elementary school" published in Pediatrics in 2009, Scheffler and his co-authors found that medicated ADHD children scored higher on math and reading. Scheffler and Hinshaw teamed up once more, along with co-authors, to map out care and treatment for ADHD in "International variation in treatment procedures for ADHD: social context and recent trends," which appeared in Psychiatric Services in 2011.
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