Pre-Doctoral Research Fellow in Development Economics

Dina Pomeranz (University of Zurich) is looking for a full-time research assistant together with

Paul Carrillo (GWU), Dave Donaldson (MIT), Ronak Jain (University of Zurich), Constantine

Manda (UC Irvine), Marina Ngoma (World Bank), Monica Singhal (UC Davis), Juan Carlos SuárezSerrato (Stanford University), and Jonathan Weigel (UC Berkeley). The research assistant will

work on several projects in development economics, ranging from taxation to firm development

and broader microeconomic development studies.

Research projects

The successful candidate will contribute to a number of research projects that draw on different

datasets to shed light on i) tax compliance in low- and middle-income countries, ii) the impact of

public procurement on firm development, and iii) measures to improve welfare for low-income

domestic workers. The projects involve the analysis of exciting, large-scale network datasets

including the transactions between all formal firms in the entire country of Ecuador and tax data

on intra-group payments carried out by multinational firms operating in Chile, as well as the design

and rollout of randomized field experiments (RCTs) in Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

What is the pre-doctoral research fellow’s role?

We expect to involve the research fellow in all stages of research – brainstorming, literature

reviews, project management, data analysis in STATA, and writing. The research fellow will work

in teams with professors and a vibrant team of other research assistants and will receive handsom mentoring throughout.

Qualifications

The position is ideal for a recent graduate who is interested in going on to do a PhD in economics

or a related field, or in exploring whether a PhD would be a good fit for them. The candidate should

have a master’s or bachelor’s degree with good grades in economics or another quantitative social

science field. Candidates need strong knowledge of STATA. Knowledge of other statistical

programs such as R or Python is welcome but not required. The position is ideal for someone who

either possesses or is interested in acquiring the ability to communicate research results

effectively to different audiences in a clear and accurate manner.

We are looking for a person who enjoys independent problem-solving and thrives on taking high level directional advice and then running with this advice as far as possible. The position requires

strong organizational and time management skills, the ability to work towards multiple deadlines

and interact with different professors and stakeholders. The ideal candidate has a desire to

understand the social world around them and possesses a thirst for answering research questions

about international development, taxation, and/or firm behavior.

No work permit is required, as we will endeavor to obtain an employment visa for the candidate if

required.