Term Research Assistants - Oregon Health Study
JOB DESCRIPTION: Full time research assistant to MIT Professor Amy Finkelstein and Harvard Professor Katherine Baicker.
We are looking to hire several full-time research assistant to begin in the summer of 2012 and to work for one to two years.
The position will entail assistance with all stages of empirical analysis on the Oregon Health Study and other empirical health economics and public finance projects. The Oregon Health Study is an on-going, multi-million dollar empirical project that uses a randomized experiment in Oregon to evaluate the impact of expanding health insurance to low income adults on their health care use, health outcomes, financial well-being, and overall well-being (see e.g.http://www.nber.org/papers/w17190 for the one year effects of the experiment orhttp://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1108222 for a summary).Other projects RAs may work on include analysis of market failures and government intervention in private insurance markets (see e.g. http://econ-www.mit.edu/files/5810 for an overview), or of physician behavior in the health care setting.
The position will entail assistance with all stages of empirical analysis on the Oregon Health Study and other empirical health economics and public finance projects. The Oregon Health Study is an on-going, multi-million dollar empirical project that uses a randomized experiment in Oregon to evaluate the impact of expanding health insurance to low income adults on their health care use, health outcomes, financial well-being, and overall well-being (see e.g.http://www.nber.org/papers/w17190 for the one year effects of the experiment orhttp://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1108222 for a summary).Other projects RAs may work on include analysis of market failures and government intervention in private insurance markets (see e.g. http://econ-www.mit.edu/files/5810 for an overview), or of physician behavior in the health care setting.
Candidates should have an interest in applying to a quantitative Ph.D. program (preferably in economics) and in pursuing a research career. Applicants must have strong programming and quantitative skills and experience as a research assistant. Excellent grades are required. The job is ideal for someone with an enthusiasm for empirical research, and the ability and interest to learn new skills and take initiative as a project develops.
The position is located at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in Cambridge Massachusetts, with the opportunity to interact with economics undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty from both Harvard and MIT. Annual salary is $50,000, along with access to the NBER’s employee health insurance plan starting on the first of the month following the employee’s start date.
TO APPLY: Please submit a single pdf document containing the following materials to the NBER online application system (https://home.eease.adp.com/recruit/?id=942961):
1. A cover letter that includes:
A description of your familiarity with various statistical and computer packages (e.g. STATA, SAS, Gauss, Matlab etc.)
A brief description of your experience as a research assistant and with any independent research (e.g. thesis or other research projects)
The names of two or three references (and their email and phone contact information). At least one reference must be someone for whom you have worked as a research assistant.
2. A current CV
3. A transcript (unofficial is fine).
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis but preference will be given to applications submitted prior to December 1, 2011.
