Richard S. Gearhart III, Ph.D.

Richard Gearhart joined CSUB in August of 2014, coming from Clemson University in South Carolina, where he earned both his Master’s degree and his Ph.D. in Economics. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Economics and is the Managing Editor of the Kern Economic Journal, a publication that tracks and analyzes local economic trends and data. He earned tenure in the 2020 academic year.

 

Richard is an expert on Health Economics, Labor Economics, Regional Economics, and Public Sector Economics, analyzing the efficiency and productivity of healthcare delivery systems at the individual, local, and regional levels. He has published peer-reviewed articles examining both county and state level healthcare efficiency, as well as focusing on limitations of looking across countries to model healthcare systems. Richard also has written articles on the impact of oil prices on employment in various sectors in Kern County, such as manufacturing, farming, and service-oriented, as well as the health impacts of rapidly fluctuating oil prices, with Dr. Nyakundi Michieka.

 

In his spare time, Richard enjoys playing various sports, namely soccer and football, playing in several adult leagues. He also enjoys craft beer, traveling to different breweries around the country to sample their wares. He lives in Bakersfield, CA, with his wife, Diane Gearhart, his two daughter, Claire Gearhart (born in 2015) and Reagan Gearhart (born in 2020), and his two Yorkshire terriers, Belle and Caesar (unlike his namesake, Caesar is incredibly timid). His parents (Richard and Sharon) and his sister (Tommie) live in Virginia.