some observations about the state of global economy. Prof. Ater earned his bachelor (law and economics) and Master's degrees, both Cum Laude, from the Hebrew University. Before pursuing his Ph.D. studies in Economics at Stanford University, he also worked at the Israeli Antitrust Authority. His research examines the sources of the high cost of living in Israel. In particular, he studies how government policies, consumer behavior and firm actions contribute to market outcomes in the food, automobile and real-estate markets.