The science on remote schooling is now clear. Here’s who it hurt most. (cites a study by Emily Oster)
November 23, 2022 The Washington Post
The Washington Post article references a study of state test scores by Professor of Economics Emily Oster.
Emily Oster
Emily Oster
JJE Goldman Sachs University Professor in Economics
Biography
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.
Research
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.
Publications
"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).
Teaching
MPA 2460 Economics for Public Policy
Econ 018D
Econ 2360
News|Recent News
The Right Choices in Parenting (interview with Emily Oster)
November 7, 2022 The Atlantic
Professor of Economics Emily Oster discussed understanding the nuances of choice-making in parenthood during an interview for The Atlantic podcast How to Build a Happy Life.
Should we declare a pandemic amnesty? (interview with Emily Oster)
November 4, 2022 NPR
Professor of Economics Emily Oster interviewed for NPR's All Things Considered on the opinion piece she authored in the Atlantic about "pandemic amnesty."
Let's Declare A Pandemic Amnesty (written by Emily Oster)
October 31, 2022 The Atlantic
In this opinion piece for The Atlantic, Professor of Economics Emily Oster argues that we need to forgive one another for what we did and said when we were in the dark about COVID.
A question to keep parents up at night: whether to allow their children into their bed (comments by Emily Oster)
October 27, 2022 The Guardian
Emily Oster comments for The Guardian, "it’s not just that we don’t have a lot of data about that but that it would be difficult to learn very much from it.”
Those math and reading scores were horrible, but beware of the political spin (comments by Emily Oster)
October 25, 2022 Los Angeles Times
Emily Oster comments for the Los Angeles Times, "There’s a tremendous amount that we don’t understand. This is not a single-factorial case.”
Nation’s Report Card Shows Largest Drops Ever Recorded in 4th and 8th Grade Math (comments by Emily Oster)
October 24, 2022 The 74
Emily Oster comments for The 74, "the general patterns are that the losses are big, they’re much bigger in math than in reading, and they’re much bigger in more vulnerable kids."
Events
Feb 22, 2021
Vaccine Roll-out: What's Working for Implementation?
1 p.m. – 2 p.m. Watch on Watson's YouTube channel.