The Center for the Economics of Human Development is looking for a predoctoral fellow to work on the CEHD’s Origins of Persistence of Inequality in Denmark project, which is spearheaded by Dr. James Heckman and Dr. Rasmus Landersø (ROCKWOOL Foundation). The predoctoral fellow will work closely with Dr. Sadegh Eshaghnia, a CEHD Senior Research Associate.

This project investigates the causes and nature of inequality and its persistence across generations. We utilize a rich array of longitudinal data drawn from secure administrative sources in Denmark and the United States to analyze intergenerational inequality across a wide number of dimensions and to understand the mechanisms behind how parents’ resources and investments in their children, along with social influence, serve to create opportunities.

The Predoctoral Fellow’s work on this project will enable CEHD to drive forward work that will shed light on how inequality in adult outcomes arises and how government policies can best serve to mitigate inequality. The overarching goal of this work is to examine the origins of human differences and the effectiveness of alternative intervention strategies to foster human skills and capacities and remediate intergenerational transmission of disadvantages. The position requires demonstrated expertise in econometric models of human development, policy formation, and applied microeconomics.

Responsibilities range across the research cycle and will include cleaning and analyzing large datasets, designing survey questionnaires, proposing grants for new projects, writing reports or papers, and presenting research. CEHD researchers are uniquely empowered to make vital contributions to the Center’s work through collaboration and the potential for early-career co-authorship.

Candidates should have completed (or be near completing) a Bachelor’s, Master’s or graduate degree in economics and will have: (i) a strong quantitative background; (ii) excellent programming skills; (iii) past experience with research, including independent work (such as an undergrad thesis) or work as a research assistant.

Essential Functions:

• Program in Stata, Python, R, or MATLAB to analyze data using econometric tools
• Clean and describe data, generating graphs, tables, or other summaries
• Responsibly handle confidential data
• Write and/or proofread grants
• Train and supervise undergraduate research assistants
• Collaborate with research team to develop economic models for the Denmark project
• Write and/or proofread reports, academic papers, and presentations

Education, Experience, and Certifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree, conferred by Spring 2024, in economics or related quantitative field
• A minimum of one year of research experience with quantitative academic research
• Experience programming and working with empirical data

Technical Knowledge or Skills:

• Proficiency in Stata required
• Experience with R, Python, or MATLAB required
• Proficiency in LaTeX helpful

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Apply for this position at the link above. 

Deadline: April 30, 2024

Required Documents:

• Resume and/or CV
• Research Statement
• Unofficial Transcript
• Code Sample (in any programming language that you have used to conduct data analysis)
• Reference Contact Information (minimum of two)