Gur Ofer was born in Jerusalem in 1934. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics and history and a master’s degree in economics from the Hebrew University, followed by a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. Upon receiving his doctorate in 1968 he joined the Department of Economics at the Hebrew University and served as its Head from 1985 to 1986. Ofer was the President of the Israeli Economic Association and the Head of the National Institute for Health Services Research and Health Policy in Israel. He also chaired the Academic Committee of the New Economic School in Moscow, of which he was a founding member.

His primary research interests included: the economy of the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia; the integration of the former Soviet Union immigrants in Israel; reforms in the economic regimes of planned economies; public services in Israel and globally; health economics and the provision of healthcare services in Israel.

Gur Ofer passed away in Jerusalem in 2022.