[5][6] Until 2001, he was the Goldwin Smith Professor of Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy in the Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences.

For the 2008–09 academic year, Frank was a visiting professor at the New York University Stern School of Business.

[1] Frank has also been a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Nepal, the chief economist for the Civil Aeronautics Board, a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (1992 to 1993), and a Professor of American Civilization at École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris (2000–01).

[1] In 2008, Frank received an honorary doctorate in Economics from the University of St. Gallen[7] This theory is an analytical examination of the socioeconomic concept of keeping up with the Joneses and conspicuous consumption.

In their book The Winner-Take-All Society, Frank and Philip J. Cook discuss the contemporary trend toward concentration of wealth.

In various economic papers and in the book Passions Within Reason, he discusses the idea that emotions have important roles in decision making and personal interactions, even when they seem to be irrational.

By acting "irrationally" when treated unfairly, a person can obtain better results in situations which resemble the ultimatum game if their opponent anticipates their emotional response and adjusts their strategy accordingly.

Frank et al. concluded, that with "an eye toward both the social good and the well-being of their own students, economists may wish to stress a broader view of human motivation in their teaching."