Research Department - Research Assistant Consultant

at  InterAmerican Development Bank

Post of duty: HQ, Washington D.C.
The IDB Group is a community of diverse, versatile, and passionate people who come together on a journey to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our people find purpose and do what they love in an inclusive, collaborative, agile, and rewarding environment.
About this position
To achieve sustainable and equitable development in the region, the Research Department (RES) generates new ideas to enrich the knowledge base supporting the policy agenda of the Bank and its member countries. To maximize the impact of its research, RES carries out activities that serve as inputs to Bank departments, governments, academia, and public opinion in the region.
RES advises management on economic and development issues, conducts research and analysis on macro- and microeconomics trends, and oversees the development of the Bank’s quantitative and analytical databases. RES’s staff consists of a team of researchers with excellent academic credentials, superior research and policymaking experience, and expertise in different areas.
We are looking for a motivated, organized, and experienced research assistant. As a research assistant, you will contribute to produce data analysis to advance the IADB Research Department’s agenda on local economies in Latin America and the Caribbean. You will work closely with the Research team supporting research in academic papers, which may include data collection and cleaning, as well as econometric analysis.
What you’ll do:

Selected candidates will work with RES researchers and perform the following activities:

• Assist researchers in the preparation of research papers, reports, and presentations.
• Identify, compile, and organize databases.
• Perform econometric and statistical analyses.
• Prepare literature reviews.
• Participate in academic discussions on research findings.
• Provide support in project management or field experiments.

Additionally, selected candidates may:

• Serve as an RA buddy to help the transition of a new RA (if required)
• Update the RAs onboarding document (if required)
• Attend Econnet seminars and other events (if required)
• Represent the RAs team in departmental meetings (if required)

Depending on the merit of the intellectual contribution to the research agenda, the Research Assistants Program sometimes provides RAs with the opportunity to co-author papers with RES researchers. The RES Research Assistants program is functionally similar to a pre-doc program in academic institutions. After working in RES, RAs typically go on to pursue their Ph.D. or master’s studies. In recent years, RAs have gone to Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, Columbia, University of Minnesota, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and others.

What you’ll need

• Education: Undergraduate degree in economics. Master’s degree in economics, public policy, or related field preferred. Candidates should have a strong quantitative background. Prospects of engaging in doctoral-level studies preferred.
• Experience: At least 2 years of experience in the following areas:
• In applied research at a recognized university, research center, or government agency
• Strong background in econometrics, mathematics, and statistics
• Experience in applied econometric methodologies
• Experience with econometric packages such as Stata, MATLAB, Dynare, R, QGIS, or EViews. Advanced programming level preferred
• Some basic programming experience (e.g., Fortran, Python, Perl, C) desirable

Demonstrated experience in at least one of the following areas: [Candidates should specify the area(s) for which they are applying]:

• Microeconomics. Demonstrated experience in any of the following areas: economics of education, health, housing, urban, environment, poverty and inequality, development, labor, microfinance, public finance, behavioral economics, or political economy. Use of household or labor force surveys, economic/population census, administrative tax records, an/or industry surveys in cross-section or panel formats. Experience with applied micro econometrics, causal inference methods, program evaluation, discrete choice models and/or estimation of structural model
• Macroeconomics, banking, and finance. Demonstrated experience in some of the following areas: open macro and international finance, monetary and fiscal policy, growth and development, productivity, debt sustainability analysis, banking, and finance. Experience in macroeconomics modeling, including VARs, Panel VARs, local projection methods, DSGE modeling or panel data methods for macroeconomics.
• Languages: Proficiency in English and one of the other Bank official languages (Spanish, French or Portuguese) is required.

Key skills:
Motivation to do research, ability to work independently, and willingness to participate in research teams. Strong analytical abilities as demonstrated by academic achievements and other personal accomplishments. Excellent writing skills in English and in one other Bank language.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Citizenship: You are a citizen of one of our 48-member countries.
• Consanguinity: You have no family members (up to the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity, including spouse) working at the IDB, IDB Invest, or IDB Lab.

Please refer the Job description for details