Richard Newell Cooper (June 14, 1934 – December 23, 2020) was an American economist, policy adviser, and academic. Born in Seattle, Cooper graduated from Oberlin College in 1956 and received a master's degree in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science as a Marshall Scholar in 1958. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1962. Cooper was an assistant professor at Yale University from 1963 to 1966 and was Frank Altschul Professor of International Economics from 1966 to 1977. From 1972 to 1974 he served as provost.