Research Professional - Health Economics Initiative (Multiple Hires)
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
Expected Start Date : Flexible - Summer 2027
Reporting to: Joshua Gottlieb, Matthew Notowidigdo, Zarek Brot, Maggie Shi
Depar tment: Becker Friedman Institute
Job Summary
The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) is seeking to hire a full-time Research Professional to work with Joshua Gottlieb, Matthew Notowidigdo, Zarek Brot, and/or Maggie Shi on ongoing and new research projects related to research in the economics of health. This includes developing new ideas, identifying and cleaning data sources, preparing and conducting analyses, and shaping the results for presentation and publication. Applicants must have completed a Bachelor’s degree prior to Summer 2027. Successful candidates will work directly with BFI Health Initiative Faculty and co-authors 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. 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.
Past Research Professionals in this position have been admitted to graduate school at Princeton (Economics), University of Chicago (Economics), Northwestern (Economics), Northwestern (Kellogg), Harvard (Health Policy), University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) and other excellent programs in the United States and abroad.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Responsibilities
Write programs in Stata, R, and/or Python to analyze large datasets
Construct maps, figures, and tables for economics papers
Identify new data sources
Editing tasks
Other duties as assigned
Preferred Competencies:
Desired (but not required) skills include advanced familiarity with programming, and the ability to manage and analyze large datasets. Although previous experience with any specific language is not essential, familiarity with at least one scripting language is encouraged.
Ability to work independently and manage multiple projects simultaneously
Excellent organizational skills
Attention to detail
Strong academic writing/communication skills
Strong communication and interpersonal skills
Minimum Qualifications
Education: Bachelor's degree in economics, computer science, science, engineering, or related STEM fields from an accredited university.
Experience : Relevant research experience as a research assistant.
Technical Knowledge/Skills : Knowledge of R, Python, Stata preferred
Application Documents
Resume/CV
Cover letter
Writing Sample
Coding Sample
Transcripts (unofficial accepted)
Two professional references
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…