Rate My Professor Robert Costrell

Robert Costrell is Professor Emeritus of Education Reform and Economics in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He previously held the Endowed Chair in Education Accountability there from 2006 to 2023. Costrell received his B.A. in Economics, with high distinction and magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan in 1972, and his Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University in 1978, where his dissertation was supervised by Nobel laureate Kenneth Arrow. Before joining the University of Arkansas, he was Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1992 to 2006, advancing through the ranks from assistant professor in 1978. From 1999 to 2006, he held key positions in the Massachusetts state government, serving as Chief Economist and Director of Research and Development in the Executive Office for Administration and Finance, and as Education Advisor to Governor Mitt Romney, contributing to education reforms including funding formulas.

At the University of Arkansas, Costrell taught courses including Economics of Education, Education Finance Policy, and Seminar in Education Accountability, and served as founding graduate director of the Ph.D. program in Education Policy. His research specializes in economics of education, with a focus on teacher pension systems, school finance, and education standards. Notable publications include "A Simple Model of Educational Standards" (American Economic Review, 1994), "Distribution of Ability and Earnings in a Hierarchical Job Assignment Model" co-authored with Glenn C. Loury (Journal of Political Economy, 2004), "Peaks, Cliffs and Valleys: The Peculiar Incentives in Teacher Retirement Systems and their Consequences for School Staffing" with Michael Podgursky (Education Finance and Policy, 2009), and "The Three R’s of Teacher Pension Funding: Redistribution, Return, and Risk" (Educational Researcher, 2023). He has received major grants from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and others. Awards include the 2020 Steven D. Gold Award for contributions to public financial management, the 2008-09 Significant Research Award from the University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions, and fellowship at the George W. Bush Institute (2011-2013). Costrell has served on U.S. Department of Education advisory councils and provided expert testimony in school finance litigation.