Randall W. Eberts is president of the W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, an independent nonprofit research organization that conducts and supports research on policy-relevant employment and regional economic issues. The Institute has its foundation in 1932, during the depths of the Great Depression, when Dr. W. E. Upjohn (founder of the Upjohn Company) started a grand experiment to provide a safety net, through farming, for those people who lost their jobs. The Institute has grown into a unique organization of 100 staff members that conducts policy-related research on a variety of employment issues and administers federal and state employment programs. Before joining the Institute in September 1993, Eberts was assistant vice president and economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. During 1991-92, he served as senior staff economist on the President's Council of Economic Advisers. He was also associate professor of economics at the University of Oregon and visiting assistant professor at Texas A&M University. Eberts received his Ph.D. in economics from Northwestern University.

Eberts’ primary areas of research include job training, education, low-wage workers, and the evaluation of workforce programs. Recently, he has worked with the U.S. Department of Labor to develop and implement a framework for adjusting national, state, and local performance targets for the workforce system and with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on issues related to partnerships between local economic development and workforce development agencies. Eberts is also a consultant to the Chicago Fed's economic research department. He has published numerous articles on those topics and has co-authored several books.