Research Professional – Erik Hurst and Chang-Tai Hsieh (Full-Time, Benefits Eligible)

Job Title: Research Professional (RP)

Location: Chicago, IL

Salary Ranges: $59,000–62,000 annual salary, additional $2,000 professional development fund

Terms: Seeking a Research Professional for a period of at least one but ideally two years

Projects: Projects include global innovation, China's economic growth, and technological revolution in the US service sector

Expected Start Date: To be determined - Summer 2027

Department: Becker Friedman Institute

Job Summary

The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) is seeking to hire a full-time Research Professional to work with Professors Chang-Tai Hsieh and Erik Hurst on ongoing and new research projects related to global innovation, China's economic growth, and technological revolution in the US service sector. Applicants must be available to begin work in July 2027. The Research Professional’s responsibilities will span all stages of research, including collecting data of in both tabular and spatial formats, developing algorithms that clean and organize data, conducting statistical analyses, running simulations, and preparing manuscripts and presentations.

Successful candidates will work directly with Professors Chang-Tai Hsieh and Erik Hurst as part of BFI's Predoctoral Research in Economics Program (PREP). The program is intended to serve as a bridge between college and graduate school for students interested in empirical economics. Applicants must have completed a Bachelor’s degree by June 2027 and have strong quantitative and programming skills. Candidates with research experience are strongly preferred, especially those with experience in programming and numerical optimization software. The ideal candidate would begin on July 1, 2027 and work for BFI for one or two years before applying to graduate school in Economics or another quantitative social science. BFI offers competitive salary and employee benefits.

Responsibilities

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.

Experience: 3 months to one year of work experience in a related job discipline. Experience gained through coursework may be counted as relevant experience.

Application Documents

About the Department

The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics aims to foster frontier research and apply those findings to achieve global impact. BFI brings together researchers from the Booth School of Business, the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics, the Harris School of Public Policy, the Law School, and the entire University of Chicago Economics Community to leverage robust data, apply cutting-edge analytical tools, and uncover novel insights on the world’s most difficult economic problems. BFI then bridges the divide between academic researchers and relevant policy makers by translating and packaging rigorous research into accessible formats and proactively sharing those findings with decision-makers and thought leaders in business, government and nonprofit institutions. In this way, BFI has the potential to play a significant role in meeting the most difficult challenges facing the global community.

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

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