Y-RISE Postgraduate Associate
Faculty Supervisor:
Project and Position Description:
Professor Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak, faculty director of the Yale Research Initiative on Innovation and Scale (Y-RISE) is seeking a full-time postgraduate associate. The position is for one to two years, and we have a strong preference for applicants that plan to stay for at least two years. The position will work from the Y-RISE office and participate in the Yale Economics Department’s pre-doctoral Tobin RA program. Applicants will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the preferred start date is Spring/Summer 2025.
The job will consist of collaboration on a number of new and ongoing projects related to the Y-RISE research agenda on the effects of large-scale development interventions. The focus of this research may include assessing the general-equilibrium effects of interventions, the effects of programs on political outcomes, the external validity of initial estimates of program effects in different locations and years, and the implementation challenges that arise when programs scale. Current projects include climate change adaptation, mental health services, economic empowerment, and health services extension.
Primary responsibilities include planning study design, cleaning and analyzing large datasets, helping to write papers and proposals, generating figures and tables, and supporting quality assurance of on-going fieldwork.
The ideal candidate will: (i) be detail-oriented with programming experience in statistical software such as Stata, R, Matlab, or Python; (ii) have a strong quantitative background; (iii) be able to work independently to solve problems; and (iv) have a long-term interest in pursuing research in economics. Familiarity with economics and randomized controlled trials is preferred – but we also welcome applicants with strong technical backgrounds who wish to increase their exposure to economics and related fields.
Training and Mentorship that the candidate will have access to:
Training: The candidate will receive training on skills including but not limited to technical research skills, including the ability to conduct statistical analysis on economic and experimental data; designing and managing field experiments; literature on many key topics in economic development, especially the design and evaluation of large-scale programs; and soft skills necessary for academic research, such as the ability to collaborate, communicate, self-motivate, and manage multiple projects effectively.
Mentoring: The candidate will receive mentoring from Professor Mushfiq Mobarak, through group and 1:1 meetings. He will help facilitate academic relationships with other faculty, postdoctoral associates, and other future graduate students in their field as well. Finally, the candidate will also have access to mentorship through the Tobin Center for Economic Policy
Other: The candidate will have access to the resources provided as part of the Tobin Pre-doc Program including taking for credit or auditing one course per semester, participating in a weekly professional development seminar, and attending department research seminars.
The position is located at Yale, although travel to support research projects may be required. Countries of focus are always growing, but currently include Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, India, Jamaica, and Nepal.
Requisite Skills and Qualifications:
Proficient in Stata. Professional-level English speaking and writing skills.
Preferred additional skills:
SurveyCTO, GIS (QGIS and/or ESRI suite of software including ArcGIS Online, Python, Arcade), R, other statistical and geospatial analysis software
Preferred additional languages:
Bangla/Bengali