Ezra Oberfield
Professor, Economics
Academic focus:
Firm dynamics, economic growth, trade
Current research project:
I'm working on a series of papers about how large firms such as Starbucks with many establishments choose to organize themselves over space. Which types of locations are covered in a firm's geographic footprint? Do the largest and most productive firms tend to favor more dense and richer locations relative to less productive firms? Or are they more willing to serve the more marginal locations? How many establishments does each firm place in a location and how close together are these establishments? How do these decisions depend on the characteristics of the location and of the firm? I am interested in understanding how these decisions made by many firms jointly determine which customers have access to which firms' goods, and how spatial competition among firms plays out. I am also interested in how recent changes in technology, which have spurred some large firms to greatly expand their footprints, affected local competition both in cities and in rural areas.
Previous positions:
- Professor, Economics Department, Princeton, 2023-2024
- Associate Professor, Economics Department, Princeton, 2020-2023
- Assistant Professor, Economics Department, Princeton, 2013-2020
- Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, 2010-2013
Academic background:
- Ph.D., Economics, Chicago, 2010
- B.A., Economics and math, Yale, 2003
Last book read:
“G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century” by Beverly Gage
In your own time/when not working:
Frisbee, piano
Courses you’re most looking forward to teaching:
Firm dynamics and aggregate productivity
What most excites you about Cornell:
Great colleagues, great atmosphere
