Ezra G. Goldstein

Ezra G. Goldstein serves as Assistant Professor at Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Public Policy and holds a Faculty Affiliate position with Penn State's Child Maltreatment Solutions Network. His research centers on public economics and policy affecting vulnerable populations, particularly children, utilizing quasi-experimental methods and administrative data to examine systemic issues in child welfare and family dynamics.

Professor Goldstein's work investigates critical intersections of economics and child welfare policy through rigorous empirical analysis. Key focus areas include:

• Long-term impacts of family structure disruptions on child development
• Racial equity in child protective services and foster care systems
• Maternal health outcomes within child welfare contexts
• Economic consequences of school closures on child maltreatment reporting
• Communication barriers in scientific research networks

His methodological approach emphasizes causal inference through natural experiments and large-scale administrative datasets to generate actionable policy insights.

Recent publications (2020-2025) demonstrate consistent output in top-tier journals spanning economics, public policy, and health science. His research trajectory shows increasing focus on health-related child welfare issues while maintaining strong contributions to labor economics and innovation studies. Notable works include analyses of paternal loss effects, pandemic-related school closure impacts, and racial equity interventions in child protective services.

Professor Goldstein's scholarly contributions have been recognized through prestigious awards:

• Irvin & Peggy Sobel Award for Best Graduate Student (2019-2020)
• Thomas S. McCaleb Award for Excellence in Upper Division Economic Education (2020)
• Bartlett Fellowship for Excellence in Economic Education (2018)

With multiple active collaborations and publications in leading journals, Professor Goldstein maintains a robust research program likely supported by external funding. His teaching excellence across undergraduate economics courses (consistently rated 4.58-4.91/5) demonstrates strong mentorship capacity. Prospective students interested in public economics, child welfare policy, or applied econometrics would find meaningful research opportunities through his interdisciplinary projects.

Though no dedicated laboratory is maintained, Professor Goldstein's work leverages institutional partnerships including Penn State's Child Maltreatment Solutions Network and access to administrative data systems from child welfare agencies. This collaborative framework enables policy-relevant research addressing systemic challenges in vulnerable population support systems.