David Richter

Prof. Dr. David Richter is Professor for Survey Research in the Department of Education and Psychology at the Free University of Berlin and serves as Managing Director/Principal Investigator of the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) alongside Director of SHARE Infrastructure at SHARE BERLIN Institute GmbH.

Academic Background

• Psychology studies at Free University of Berlin (1999-2004)

Research Focus

Richter specializes in survey methodology and longitudinal panel data analysis, examining health trajectories, aging processes, and retirement dynamics across European populations. His work integrates developmental psychology with social demography to investigate life satisfaction determinants, personality-well-being interactions, and family structure impacts through large-scale cohort studies. He pioneers methodological approaches for capturing social processes within data collection frameworks.

Publication Trends

His recent scholarship demonstrates consistent focus on life satisfaction determinants using longitudinal designs, with increasing emphasis on interdisciplinary connections between sleep science, decision neuroscience, and social psychology. Publications reveal methodological sophistication in handling complex life event sequencing and cross-generational family dynamics through advanced statistical modeling of panel datasets.

Project Leadership

Richter directs SHARE's European infrastructure while managing survey operations for major longitudinal studies including SOEP at DIW Berlin. His leadership spans operational management, methodology development, and cross-institutional coordination for projects tracking demographic shifts across 30+ European nations. He mentors research teams in survey implementation and trains graduate students in panel data methodologies through specialized coursework.