Emily Oster
JJE Goldman Sachs University Professor in Economics
Emily Oster is a professor of economics. Prior to coming to Brown she was an associate professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is affiliated with the National Bureau of Economic Research. She earned her BA and her PhD from Harvard, in 2002 and 2006, respectively.
Emily Oster’s research focuses on health and development economics. Her past work has covered issues of HIV and gender equality in health and survival. Her current work focuses on how individuals seek out, and react to, health information. She has several recent papers on Huntington Disease, a degenerative neurological disorder. In this context she explores health information-seeking and asks why individuals in the at-risk population seem resistant to informative genetic information about this disease. She uses a similar population to test whether knowledge of limited life expectancy affects incentives to invest in education and job training.
Oster’s current work covers infant mortality – exploring why the US has very high infant mortality rates relative to other developed countries – and diet behavior among diabetics.
"Weighting for External Validity" (with Isaiah Andrews). The National Bureau of Economic Research. (September 2017). doi: 10.3386/w23826
“Approaches and Costs for Sharing Clinical Research Data” (with Erin Wilhelm and Ira Shoulson). JAMA (Viewpoint, Feb 20, 2014).
“Limited Life Expectancy, Human Capital and Health Investments” (with E. Ray Dorsey and Ira Shoulson). American Economic Review, 103 (5): p. 1977-2002 (August 2013).
“Optimal Expectations and Limited Medical Testing: Evidence from Huntington's Disease” (with E. Ray Dorsey and Ira Shoulson). American Economic Review, 103 (2): p. 804-830 (April 2013).
“Do IT Service Centers Promote School Enrollment? Evidence from India” (with Bryce Millett). Journal of Development Economics, 104: 123-135 (September 2013).
“Knowledge of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act among individuals affected by Huntington disease” (with E. Ray Dorsey et al.). Clinical Genetics, 84: p. 251-257 (September 2013).
“Determinants of Technology Adoption: Private Value and Peer Effects in Menstrual Cup Take-Up” (with Rebecca Thornton). Journal of the European Economic Association, 10(6): p.1263-1293 (December, 2012).
“Routes of Infection: Exports and HIV Incidence in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Journal of the European Economic Association, 10(5): p. 1025–1058 (October 2012).
MPA 2460 Economics for Public Policy
Econ 018D
Econ 2360
May 4, 2023 The Wall Street Journal
Emily Oster discusses even distribution of labor within the home for the Wall Street Journal, “Although that income parity has arrived to a greater extent than it has in the past, time parity in terms of household work has not caught up."
March 27, 2023 Fortune
Emily Oster comments for Fortune “It’s become more possible to work parttime or to work remotely; to have versions of a job that fit better with the kinds of parenting or the other sort of family constraints that people have."
March 13, 2023 Fortune
Emily Oster comments for Fortune, “When you make a choice about returning to labor force or not, it’s actually a big enough decision financially, that it’s one where you should really dive in.”
January 18, 2023 Bloomberg
Emily Oster's research on the potential health and environmental hazards of gas stoves is cited in Bloomberg.
January 13, 2023 Los Angeles Times
Emily Oster comments for Los Angeles Times, “If you have a gas stove do you need to replace it tomorrow? No, unless you have some significant respiratory issue."
January 13, 2023 The New York Times
Emily Oster's research on the potential health and environmental hazards of gas stoves is cited in The New York Times.
January 11, 2023 Bon Appétit
This Bon Appétit article references research by Emily Oster on the potential health and environmental hazards of gas stoves.