Richard J. Murnane is an economist who focuses his research on the relationships between education and the economy, teacher labor markets, the determinants of children's achievement, and strategies for making schools more effective. Murnane's 1996 book, Teaching the New Basic Skills, coauthored with MIT professor Frank Levy, explains how changes in the U.S. economy have increased the skills that high school graduates need to earn a middle-class living and shows how schools need to change to provide all students with the requisite skills. Murnane's and Levy's 2004 book The New Division of Labor: How Computers are Creating the Next Job Market, explains how advances in computer technology are altering the distribution of jobs in the United States and the skills that are rewarded in the labor market. Murnane was appointed to C/DBASSE in 1999 and was chair of the Center for Education Advisory Board from 2001-2006. He was elected to the National Academy of Education in 1990. Dr. Murnane received his Ph.D. in economics from Yale University.