Dr. Ity Shurtz

Department of Economics
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Photo: Shay Shmueli, BGU

My life before BGU: 

I was born in Tel Aviv, and went to high school in Ramat Hasharon. After completing an undergraduate degree in law and economics, with plans for a legal career, I did a master’s degree in economics at Tel Aviv University. From there I ended up studying for a PhD at UC Berkeley.

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My research:

I conduct research in applied economics. In other words, I primarily do data analysis in order to answer economic questions. My areas of interest are the economics of health and public economics (both of which are related to government policies). I recently published an article (with co-authors at Tel Aviv University) that showed that reducing one’s old age benefits during the conditional period – the period when one’s eligibility for benefits depends on retirement – leads to the postponement of retirement. We later found that the life expectancy of workers who delay their retirement (and work more) is shorter. This means that working at an old age can have a negative effect on life expectancy. 

Photo: Shay Shmueli, BGU​

Something that do​esn’t appear on my CV:

I like swimming, both in the ocean and in a pool, and try to swim at least once or twice a week.

When I grow up:

When I was younger I planned on becoming a lawyer, but after a brief career, I happily moved into economics.​

If I were not a researcher, I w​ould…

Tough question. I can’t really imagine myself doing anything else.

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In brief​​​: