University of Southern California - Center for Economic and Social Research / University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Position Title/Short Description

Full Text of JOE Listing:

The Center for Economic and Social Research at the University of Southern California (USC) and the Department of Economics at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee seek a postdoctoral scholar in economics for a full time two-year position, with consideration for a third year. Competitive applicants will have a strong background in data handling and econometrics. A PhD in economics, political science, public policy, or related fields is required. This position will be jointly supervised by Titus Galama (USC) and Kevin Thom (UW-Milwaukee). The position will involve work on NIA-funded research using data from the Understanding America Study (UAS). The UAS is a nationally representative internet-based panel with approximately 13,000 respondents. The UAS surveys participants on a wide variety of economic, health, and social topics. The postdoctoral scholar will have latitude to choose what project they work on, but we have a preference for projects related to aging, Alzheimer’s diseases and related dementias (ADRD) and their relationship to labor market, financial, and health outcomes. Funding for this postdoctoral position has been made possible by an NIA grant which will extend the UAS to include the collection of genetic data from respondents. Successful postdoc projects will involve analyses that can eventually make use of genetic data to explore heterogeneity in economic outcomes, heterogeneous treatment effects of policies or interventions, or other applications of molecular genetic data.

Successful candidates will have a demonstrated interest / expertise in at least one of the following: (1) Applied Microeconometrics / Models of Treatment Effect Heterogeneity, (2) Structural Estimation of Life-Cycle Models, (3) Heterogeneous Agent Macroeconomics

Responsibilities of the researcher include:

1. Conducting research broadly related to heterogeneity in life-cycle outcomes and heterogeneous effects of policies and economic conditions utilizing the UAS. Such research may include independent projects but is expected to include joint work with Professor Galama and Professor Thom.

2. Working on grant applications with Professor Galama and Professor Thom and their collaborators.

3. Contributing to the academic life of the Department of Economics at UWM and at USC-CESR, including attending seminars and interacting with professors and students.

The two-year position begins July 1, 2024 (start time negotiable). A one-year position is possible if a candidate is deferring the start time of a permanent position.