Jacob Metzer

Jacob Metzer was born in 1942

Jacob (Kobi) Metzer was born in 1942. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics and history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1967. He then received a master's degree in 1969 and a doctorate in 1972, both in economics, from the University of Chicago.

His research covers economic history. Part of it dealt with Tsarist Russia and the United States, including railways in Russia and the economics of slavery in America. Later work focused on the economy of Mandatory Palestine and Israel, and on economic aspects of ethno-nationality and settler societies.

He joined the Hebrew University faculty in 1972 and held several posts there, including head of the Department of Economics and dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences. He held the Alexander Brody Chair in Economic History and became professor emeritus in 2010. He was also a visiting professor at Berkeley, Stanford, Northwestern and the London School of Economics.

From 2013 to 2018 he served as President of the Open University of Israel, succeeding Hagit Messer Yaron. As of 2025 he chairs the board of the Falk Institute for Economic Research in Israel at the Hebrew University.