JOE Listings (Job Openings for Economists)

August 1, 2014 - January 31, 2015

Washington Center for Equitable Growth

This listing is inactive.
Chief Economist

JOE ID Number: 2014-02_111451285
Date Posted: 09/22/2014
Date Inactive: 01/31/2015
Position Title/Short Description
Title: Chief Economist
Section: Full-Time Nonacademic
Location: Washington, District of Columbia, UNITED STATES
JEL Classifications:
D -- Microeconomics
E -- Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics
F -- International Economics
H -- Public Economics
I -- Health, Education, and Welfare
J -- Labor and Demographic Economics
O -- Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth
P -- Economic Systems
Keywords:
inequality
growth
Full Text of JOE Listing:

The Washington Center for Equitable Growth is a non-partisan research and education project that engages with academics and policymakers to better understand and address the effects of economic inequality in the U.S and around the world. Important parts of Equitable Growth’s mission include in-house academic-quality research and providing grants to academic economists and social scientists to support new research on inequality, mobility, growth, and related issues.

We are seeking a Chief Economist with an established record of academic publication on these issues to undertake independent research on equitable growth and public policy, lead our team of in-house researchers, and guide engagement with the academic community, including our grantmaking. Since we are a new organization, we are seeking candidates who are entrepreneurial, team players, problem solvers, and interested in helping address the myriad challenges associated with building a new institution.

Primary responsibilities include:
• Conducting independent projects and partnering with other scholars on research that elevates cutting-edge, ultimately policy-relevant issues on economic inequality and equitable growth
• Playing a leadership role within the Research Team to direct the research agenda, guide and mentor junior research staff, and work closely with the Executive Director and senior team to develop Equitable Growth’s long-term strategic planning and internal research priorities
• Working closely with the Executive Director and Senior Policy and Academic Programs Director on the design of various program elements, including postdoctoral and dissertation grantmaking activities, academic fellowships, conferences, and workshops for young scholars, in order to attract the best scholars and encourage cutting edge research
• Maintaining and building relationships with scholars in the academic and research community in order to identify cutting edge research and new scholars and cultivate lasting relationships with Equitable Growth’s growing cohorts of grantees, fellows, and partners
• Translating new academic research into issue briefs and other accessible content
• Representing Equitable Growth to the media, policymakers, and other outside stakeholders
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and requirements:
• Ph.D. in Economics
• Decade-plus experience in academic economic research, including publication in top peer-reviewed journals
• Experience working on policy issues
• Strong understanding of the academic community
• Strong understanding of the public policy arena
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work independently and with a team
• Excellent organizational skills, with ability to multitask and prioritize work
• Accuracy, attention to detail, and ability to follow through

Project Description: For the last three decades, America’s top earners have captured an increasingly large percentage of the country’s wealth. While economists have documented this rise in inequality, less is known about its consequences and the kinds of public policy responses that are best suited to address them. Ingrained public assumptions that policies designed to increase equality would result in lower efficiency, fewer jobs, and slower growth create impediments to policymakers willing to consider policies that encourage broadly-shared growth. This problem is compounded by the fact that policymakers have limited access to academic economists, new trends in research, and organizational resources.
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth’s mission is to:

• Improve our understanding of equitable growth and inequality by supporting new academic research and bringing together scholars to share their work

• Build a stronger bridge between academics and policymakers to help ensure that research on equitable growth and inequality is relevant, accessible, and informative to the policymaking process

• Shape a rigorous, fact-based national debate on equitable growth and inequality by facilitating scholars’ participation in the media and investing in a sophisticated in-house communications and social media effort

We will be interviewing for this position at the 2015 ASSA Meetings

Application Requirements:
  • Application Instructions Below
Application deadline: 01/31/2015
Application Instructions:
Please send application materials to Bridget Ansel at bansel@equitablegrowth.org