Micro Economists at the Fed

[YoungEconomist]

So I was surfing the internet and noticed that some of the FEDs have a team of microeconomists. I was suprised because I thought the FED was a place where only people with interests in macro went to work (guess I'm naive ). Anyway, what exactly does the FED use microeconomists for? What are the job duties like for these folks? Do economists at the FED mainly just work on economic research all day, or are there a lot more job duties? Any info and/or links about jobs at the FED in general (as well as microeconomics jobs at the FED) would be greatly appreciated.

[Golden Rule]

Hmmm... I thought I could link to other threads but there are few that detail what Fed economists do. The past threads are mostly about how the Fed can help for admissions.

Most of the 12 Fed banks have RA jobs, as well as the Federal Reserve Board. You'll have look at each of 13 sites to find these jobs, since they're all independent. Most RA jobs are in research departments, though there are exceptions. Some have recruiting materials online.

Fed economists typically spend some time on policy work (i.e. preparations in advance of the FOMC meetings, board of directors, the Beige Book which summarizes current economic conditions), and some time pursuing their own research interests. The role of RAs varies a lot across the banks and departments. Some have RAs are paired with an economist or two, while others might be more spread out across a group of economists. Whether your job is micro and macro oriented depends on who you're working for.

The main functions of the Fed involve monetary policy, bank supervision and regulation, and the stability of the payments system. Fed banks also have economists that focus on regional issues and public policy. So you can see how applied microeconomists can help here. You will not find much in the way of pure micro theory at the Feds.

[YoungEconomist]

Thanks for the info Golden Rule.

Just to be clear to everyone reading this, I am talking about jobs for PhDs at the FED. Never really thought of it as a realistic job option given that I'm more interested in applied micro. But after seeing that they had microeconomists, I thought I'd ask TMers about details.

Essentially I'm just wondering what kind of jobs an applied microeconomist could get at the FED? I'd also be interested in what kind of jobs an econometrician could get at the FED, as well as a financial economist?

[Golden Rule]

Originally Posted by YoungEconomist

Essentially I'm just wondering what kind of jobs an applied microeconomist could get at the FED?

Ok, so to be slightly more specific, Fed microeconomists tend to be focused on issues related to the banking industry, the consumer payment industry, and regional issues like local job creation and tax policy, etc. The best way to learn about this is to browse the CVs of the economists on the various research department sites. In addition to the functions I described, Feds will often host conferences on these subjects. You can also find such conference materials online.

I'd also be interested in what kind of jobs an econometrician could get at the FED, as well as a financial economist?

An econometrician, as in someone who's primary field is econometrics and main research is advancing econometric methods? Not that I know of. Of course any applied micro work relies on good econometric practice.

As for finance, there are plenty of people who study finance at the Feds, they tend to study it more in the contexts of the functions I listed above (i.e. particularly the banking industry and monetary policy).