As the Commission's Chief Economist, Dr. Crawford makes his home in OSP but, on economic issues, reports directly to the Chairman. He joined the FCC in September 2007 on leave from the University of Arizona, where he has been an Assistant Professor of Economics in the Eller College of Management since August 2002. Earlier, he taught at Duke University.

His research empirically analyzes consumer and firm behavior in the presence of incomplete or asymmetric information. Much of his work focuses on the cable television industry, where he has analyzed consumer demand for the bundles of television networks that make up cable television services. He also has studied the incentives for cable firms to bundle as they do. In addition, he has written on topics in the pharmaceutical, electric generation, and internet industries.

Dr. Crawford holds a PhD in Economics from Stanford University and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. He currently is an Associate Editor at the International Journal of Industrial Organization. His wife, Julie Hansen, also is an assistant professor at the University of Arizona, where she teaches in the School of Art.