Bayesian Research Analyst - Global Poverty Research Lab, Northwestern University

What does the Lab do?

The Global Poverty Research Lab (GPRL) is a research center based at Northwestern University that generates empirical evidence on the effectiveness of policies and programs in more than 10 countries in the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, China, and Southeast Asia. Our projects examine the interaction between poverty and topics such as finance, entrepreneurship, education, gender, psychological well-being, agriculture, and the environment.

One main goal of GPRL is to produce evidence that can inform public policy. Recognizing that policy decisions cannot rely solely on individual studies, the lab emphasizes the importance of meta-analyses—studies that aggregate evidence from multiple sources to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of various interventions across different contexts and implementations. The core methodology for these meta-analyses is Bayesian Inference, with a particular emphasis on Bayesian Hierarchical Models. 

Our Team

GPRL is co-directed by Dean Karlan, Christopher Udry, and Nancy Qian, professors at the Kellogg School of Management and the Weinberg School of Arts and Sciences’ economics department at Northwestern University. Other Kellogg professors who are affiliates and Lab investigators include Andrew Dillon and Lori Beaman. GPRL’s research managers, research analysts, and administrative staff support our investigators’ projects and work closely with their coauthors at universities, NGOs, and research institutions around the world.

GPRL also works in close collaboration with research teams at Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) to coordinate field data collection, disseminate evidence, and create shared training and research resources.

Job Summary  

GPRL is hiring a full-time Research Analyst to work on projects that utilize Bayesian methods, especially hierarchical models, to summarize results across different studies. For instance, in one of our key projects, we analyze the impact of cash transfer programs by combining data from 114 studies conducted in 34 countries. Similarly, other projects focus on evaluating the effects of microcredit, entrepreneurship programs, savings reminders, and more. 

In this role, the Research Analyst will have the opportunity to use large datasets to apply and improve their expertise in Bayesian methods while contributing to research that is informative for public policy. Additionally, the RA will have access to Quest, Northwestern’s high-performance computing cluster, providing the opportunity to work with a powerful server equipped with a high number of cores and extensive RAM. This position offers a unique chance to engage with significant policy issues, especially for low and middle-income countries, and to help shape evidence that can be informative to policymakers. 

Core responsibilities:

• Writing Bayesian Hierarchical Models for the joint analysis of several datasets, for example in meta-analyses, including coding, reporting and interpreting the results
• Conducting analysis using advanced statistical and econometric tools
• Cleaning survey or administrative datasets and harmonizing variables across different sources, preparing them for analysis
• Presenting analysis to investigators and incorporating feedback into subsequent analysis
• Conducting literature reviews to identify state-of-the-art methods for conducting the analyses
• Preparing tables and figures with empirical results for publications and presentations and assisting with paper revisions for peer-reviewed journal submissions

Additional responsibilities as needed:

• Supervising undergraduate RAs as required
• Supporting research staff with Lab-wide management tasks including mentoring new RAs and creating research and training resources 

Minimum Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities.)

• Strong programming skills in R or another programming language to implement Bayesian methods
• Knowledge of Bayesian Inference, including writing and interpreting models and their output
• Understanding of simulation techniques for solving Bayesian Inference models, including Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms, as well as how to implement them using R/Python and/or Stan
• Knowledge of or willingness to learn the theory and implementation of Bayesian Hierarchical Models
• Some knowledge of Stata, since analysis conducted by other Research Analysts at GPRL is primarily done in Stata.
• Coursework in econometrics and Bayesian statistics
• Excellent organizational skills
• Fluency and excellent communication skills in English
• Ability to seek resources and self-teach new statistical, analytical, and programming techniques
• Flexible, self-motivated, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and work in teams 

Preferred Qualifications: (Education and experience)

• Familiarity with randomized controlled trials
• An enthusiasm for empirical research
• Experience living or working in a developing country

Preferred Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities)

• Experience or familiarity with using Stan

The research analyst will work in an open, collaborative environment with other GPRL staff in our common lab space at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois (Chicago area). The position offers the opportunity to interact with undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty from Kellogg and the department of economics at Northwestern, as well as research staff at IPA. It is well suited to candidates interested in pursuing graduate study in economics or other social sciences in the future. It is also a great stepping stone for those wanting to explore non-academic careers in the field of development economics. The research analyst will be a full-time employee of Northwestern University with full benefits (including the ability to take classes at a highly-subsidized tuition rate). 

We are looking for a minimum commitment of two years for this position.