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IMF/World Bank/NBER RAship predoctoral


db2018

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Hi guys,

 

As a back up in case I do not get into any of the PhD programs I really want to go to, I am planning on applying to RA positions at IMF/World Bank/NBER etc.

Is anyone familiar with the recruiting process or know what I should be doing to make myself competitive?

I've heard how it works at World Bank is that if you know an economist there then he/she can just take you as their RA, is that correct?

Also, any recommendations for other institutions besides those three above for a RA position before PhD?

 

Thanks in advance!

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Most competitive positions will be posted on the NBER page. The only other ones I could think of if you're a US citizen:

 

Federal Reserve Board of Governors

Federal Reserve, NYC

Federal Reserve, Chicago

Federal Reserve, Kansas City

Federal Reserve, Philadelphia

Federal Reserve, Boston

Federal Reserve, St. Louis

American Enterprise Institute (think tank)

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

 

For RA positions posted on the NBER page, recruiting process normally looks like resume screening -> data task -> interview 1 -> interview 2 (steps 2/3 might be switched). Other than brushing up on your Stata skills, there's nothing much you could do in my opinion. It usually helps if you have research experience you can talk about during interviews, either through your RA jobs or even better, your thesis (if you have one).

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Most competitive positions will be posted on the NBER page. The only other ones I could think of if you're a US citizen:

 

Federal Reserve Board of Governors

Federal Reserve, NYC

Federal Reserve, Chicago

Federal Reserve, Kansas City

Federal Reserve, Philadelphia

Federal Reserve, Boston

Federal Reserve, St. Louis

American Enterprise Institute (think tank)

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

 

For RA positions posted on the NBER page, recruiting process normally looks like resume screening -> data task -> interview 1 -> interview 2 (steps 2/3 might be switched). Other than brushing up on your Stata skills, there's nothing much you could do in my opinion. It usually helps if you have research experience you can talk about during interviews, either through your RA jobs or even better, your thesis (if you have one).

 

I see. I have a working paper going on with two professors right now for which I have gotten research grant during the summer. I hope that would help. Unfortunately, though, I'm an international student so I won't be able to apply for the positions at the Fed. But thank you for your recommendations and insight!

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db2018: I'm going to be in your boat in several years too. I too would like to know if there are any other possibilities other than the Fed, NBER, World Bank, and the IMF to get in good research experience and another good letter of recommendation. One route you could look into is pre-doctoral fellowships, that's probably what I'll try to do. Try doing a Google search, there were quite a few different programs. I'm also considering summer schools, but I don't want to take away time that could be used to do research and write papers.
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Ones that I've seen posted about on TM other than those listed above:

- JPAL/IPA

- Stanford GSB Fellows program

- Microsoft Research New England

- Equality of Opportunity Lab (Raj Chetty)

- Harvard EdLabs

 

Those are specialized programs, but also probably very high quality!

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