Emily Oster
Emily Oster is an economist, author, and founder of ParentData, where she turns research on pregnancy, parenting, and personal health into tools for everyday decisions.
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Latest
Emily’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus her backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Books
Books
Books
BooksOverview
- Work
- Economist, author, and founder and CEO of ParentData
- Based at
- Brown University
- Education
- Harvard University, BA in 2002 and PhD in economics in 2006
- Breakout book
- Expecting Better, published in 2013
- Recognition
- TIME100, 2022
Mini bio
How it started.
Emily’s route into parenting writing began with her own pregnancy. Trained as an economist, she wanted clearer explanations for the advice she was receiving, so she applied the research and data-analysis tools she used at work to decisions at home.
The books fans pass along.
Expecting Better brought that approach to pregnancy in 2013. Cribsheet followed in 2019 with the early years of parenting, and The Family Firm in 2021 turned to school-age children and family decisions. For The Unexpected in 2024, she teamed up with maternal-fetal medicine specialist Nathan Fox to address pregnancy during and after complications.
A continuing conversation.
As founder and CEO of ParentData, Emily extends those questions into articles and newsletters on fertility, pregnancy, children, and parents’ own health. She also teaches and researches at Brown University, with work spanning health, statistical methods, and educational recovery from the pandemic. In 2026 she began co-hosting Wellness, Actually with physician Perry Wilson.
Creditschronological, newest first
Books
- 2026The Hormone LoopForeword to Gillian Goddard’s book
- 2024The UnexpectedCo-author with Nathan Fox
- 2021The Family FirmAuthor
- 2019CribsheetAuthor
- 2013Expecting BetterAuthor
Podcasts
- 2026Wellness, ActuallyCo-host with Perry Wilson, MD
Awards
Quotes
I’ve spent my career trying to give people better information so they can make decisions with less anxiety and more confidenceEmily Oster, Heartland Forward
Speaking about the launch of the Maternal Resiliency Index in October 2026.
Trivia
- She is a mother of two, and her own experience of pregnancy helped inspire her parenting books.
- Both her parents and her husband are economists.
- As a toddler, her recorded crib chatter became material for the book Narratives from the Crib.
Find Emily
Follow Emily for new research, reader questions, and conversations about family life.
Are you Emily Oster?
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