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Oved Yosha was my professor and
mentor when I was an undergraduate and graduate student at Tel Aviv University. He significantly influenced my decision to
continue studying abroad and wrote me a letter of recommendation when I
applied to the PhD programs in the US. I will never forget his important guidance
and human attitude towards me.
Oved was a prominent figure in Israel's community of economists,
as well as a distinguished and highly regarded economist in academic circles
in Europe and in the US. He also was the Head of the Graduate
Program of the School
of Economics at Tel Aviv
University for the past
five years before his death. Through
continued cooperation with the Bank of Israel, Oved
had substantial influence on several aspects of economic policy, most notably
on the reform of the financial system in Israel.
Oved began his
career in economics at a relatively late age, after spending many years as a
senior officer in the Israeli Navy. He
completed his undergraduate studies at Bar Ilan University in 1984 and his MA at the Hebrew University in 1988. He continued his
studies at Harvard
University, and
graduated in 1992 with a Ph.D. in Economics.
Oved's research
interests spanned several fields. Some of his early theoretical papers (with
Roberto Serrano) focus on markets with "pairwise
meetings" (between buyers and sellers). From this, his interests evolved
into the study of financial systems where there are relationships between
financial intermediaries and firms, in contrast to other systems where
intermediation is carried out by large "anonymous" markets. He
spent several years doing research on what he liked to call "Comparative
Financial Systems", making a substantial contribution to the growing
literature in this field, and spanning a wide range of issues. Among them, he
studied information disclosure and the choice of financing methods, the
tradeoff between competition and stability in financial systems, the costs
and benefits of universal banking, large shareholders and corporate
governance, and the rationale for state financing in VC contracts. Together
with his shift of focus towards financial systems Oved
became more interested in empirical work, although he continued to enjoy
reading, writing, and teaching economic theory throughout his career.
Oved's academic
interest and expertise in financial systems exerted continued influence on
policy making, especially within the Bank of Israel. He helped make the study
of the financial system an integral part of the Bank's review of the Israeli
economy. His ideas, published also in a variety of outlets which were more
accessible to the general public than the prestigious academic journals in
which much of his research appeared, influenced the views of several
blue-ribbon committees, appointed to propose measures of reform in Israel's
financial system.
Oved's second
line of research focused on risk sharing between states, regions and
countries. In a series of papers Oved, together
with Bent Sorensen and others, developed techniques to identify and measure
channels of risk sharing between economic units. Risk sharing, or the
smoothing of economic shocks, takes place through financial markets, as well
as through government programs and taxes. This line of research, which was
more macro-economic in nature than Oved's work on
financial systems, proved particularly fruitful. The extent of risk sharing
between economic units has important implications for economic
specialization, fiscal policy, consumption patterns, output fluctuations, and
more. Oved's articles on these subjects appeared in
the most prestigious journals, such as the American Economic Review, the
Quarterly Journal of Economics, and the Journal of Political Economy. These
contributions are widely regarded as pioneering work that will have a lasting
and profound impact on the conduct of research in this area.
It is impossible to complete the
description of Oved's academic career without
reference to his qualities as a teacher. Oved took
his teaching obligations extremely seriously, loved teaching and excelled in
it, enjoyed meeting with his most promising students over coffee to discuss
their theses, and spent much energy and thought on their progress. Reflecting
his outstanding talents, Oved won awards for excellency in teaching at Tel Aviv University two years in a row. Some of
his students became his co-authors, and they, as well as his other students,
colleagues, and friends, will all miss him very much.
Beyond that, Oved's
made a key contribution to the Eitan Berglas School of Economics, by leading the graduate
program (both the MA and the Ph.D.) for the past five years, and making them
flourish to an unprecedented extent. During his tenure as Head of the program
the number of students increased dramatically, and the quality of the core
curriculum reached a high mark. Moreover, Oved set
up a highly efficient, orderly and fair system of governance, created a
clear, well thought out set of procedures and rules, and managed the whole
operation with enormous dedication and care.
Oved fought
courageously for about a year against cancer, finally succumbing to it on
August 7, which in the Hebrew calendar is "Tisha
B'Av" (the day when the first and second Temples fell). Oved was a prominent economist, an admired and loved
teacher, a respected and dedicated colleague, a straight and principled
person, a loving and caring husband and father of three tender children. The
loss and pain are immense for all.
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