Department: Economics
School Area: Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences
Employment Type: Full-Time Temporary
Employment Category: Exempt
Visa Sponsorship Available: No

Working at MIT offers opportunities, an environment, a culture – and benefits – that just aren’t found together anywhere else. If you’re curious, motivated, want to be part of a unique community, and help shape the future – then take a look at this opportunity.

PRE-DOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW, Economics, to join the research team of Professor Robert Townsend.  Will work on all stages of research in development economics.  Examples of the types of projects involved include understanding the spatial consequences of microfinance in Thailand, analysis of migration and entrepreneurship decisions in Ghana, and studying the effects of bank branch expansion in China.  Will be fully integrated into the research community and encouraged to attend weekly seminars at MIT.  Specific responsibilities include cleaning and organizing data, analyzing data using statistical software, developing and solving theoretical models, presenting results, and editing papers for publication. The position is ideally suited to those planning to attend graduate school in economics. 

Job Requirements

REQUIRED:  at least two years of research experience, which may include experience gained as an undergraduate; and a bachelor’s degree that includes significant training in economics and coursework in statistics, mathematics, and econometrics.  Research assistant experience and knowledge of Stata, MATLAB, and/or R is strongly preferred.  Job #17368

In addition to submitting a resume online via the MIT website, please email Dan Ehrlich at danieleh@mit.edu the following materials in a single PDF attachment titled “RA_Application_[First name]_[Last name].pdf”:  1) a cover letter describing your interest in the position, research experience and qualifications (including programming abilities), and earliest available start date and desired end date; 2) a resume; and complete (unofficial) undergraduate (and graduate if applicable) transcript and graduate. 

This is a one- to two-year position starting in summer 2019, subject to available funding. 

Research fellows are not eligible for visa sponsorship. 

MIT is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin.