Emily Oster

Professor of Economics
Emily Oster

Emily Oster joined Brown University and the PSTC in 2015. She currently serves as a Faculty Research Fellow for the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Oster studies health and development economics. She has worked on issues of demand for medical testing (“Optimal Expectations and Limited Medical Testing: Evidence from Huntington Disease”) and the consequences of health information for behavior. 

Oster's work extends to studying HIV in the developing world (“HIV and Sexual Behavior Change: Why not Africa?”), as well as issues of gender inequality (“The Power of TV: Cable Television and Women's Status in India”).

Selected Publications

"Why is Infant Mortality in the US Higher than in Europe?" with Alice Chen and Heidi Williams. American Economic Journal: Policy, May 2016.

“Do IT Service Centers Promote School Enrollment? Evidence from India,” with Bryce Millett. Journal of Development Economics, September 2013.

“Limited Life Expectancy, Human Capital and Health Investments,” with Ray Dorsey and Ira Shoulson. American Economic Review, August 2013.

“Routes of Infection: Exports and HIV Incidence in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Journal of the European Economic Association, October 2012.

Scholarly Interests

Development economics, Health

Affiliated Departments

Department of Economics