Professor Ohanian is an adviser to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and previously has advised other Federal Reserve Banks, Foreign Central Banks, and the National Science Foundation. He has been an economic adviser to state and national political campaigns and has testified to the U.S. Senate and the California State Legislative Assembly. His research, which recently has been discussed in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and other media sources, focuses on economic crises, and as been published widely in a number of peer-reviewed journals. He is a frequent columnist for the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, and other media.

He received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Rochester, and he has also taught at the University of Minnesota, the University of Pennsylvania, Washington University (St. Louis), Arizona State University, and the Stockholm School of Economics. He is also A Fellow of the Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory and the recipient of the Kaplan Prize and Scoville Distinguished Teaching Prize.