RESEARCH PROFESSIONAL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, BOOTH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Richard Hornbeck and Anders Humlum are looking to hire highly skilled and motivated individuals to work as full-time Research Professionals, starting in the summer of 2023. The work hours are flexible but should average approximately 37 hours a week, and we are hoping to fill the position for two years. The position pays an annual salary of $50,000 and provides standard benefits such as health insurance.

The Research Professional will take on an important role in our research in Applied Microeconomics. Our work draws on large micro-level datasets, with a current focus on understanding the causes and consequences of technological change and intergenerational effects of wealth. The Research Professional will be involved in all stages of research: brainstorming, data collection and cleaning, reduced-form empirical analysis, and model-based structural analysis. Experience with relevant computer software is highly desirable (Stata, Matlab, R, or Python), though experience with data management and analysis, and a willingness to learn new programs, may be sufficient.

The successful Research Professional will be highly motivated and able to work in an efficient and organized manner with close attention to detail. It is important to be able to follow instructions closely, while also being self-motivated and able to work independently. Some projects involve working with large historical datasets, cleaning these data with close attention to detail, managing work by undergraduates to clean the data, and contributing to the design, improvement, and implementation of machine-based methods.

Three examples of ongoing projects are:

Steam Adoption in American Manufacturing
This project studies the transition from water to steam power in US manufacturing. The analysis is based on newly-digitized microdata from the Census of Manufactures in 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880. By linking establishments across census years, we study whether the diffusion of steam power was driven by the switching of incumbent firms or leapfrogging by new entrants. We develop and estimate a dynamic model of how manufacturers select locations, choose power sources, and produce outputs. Using the estimated model, we evaluate the role of switching costs in determining the winners and losers from steam.

Robot Adoption and Labor Market Dynamics
This project studies the distributional impact of industrial robots using administrative data that link workers, firms, and robots in Denmark. Using the microdata, we estimate a dynamic model of how firms select into and reorganize production around robot adoption. To understand the macroeconomic implications of the diffusion of robot adoption, we embed the firm model into a general equilibrium framework that endogenizes the dynamic choice for workers to switch occupations in response to robots.

Financial Wealth of African Americans after Slavery and its Intergenerational Impacts
This project analyzes the intergenerational consequences of low African American wealth following emancipation from slavery. We estimate the impacts of wealth lost due to the 1874 bankruptcy of the Freedman’s Bank, which was created after the Civil War to provide an outlet for savings of formerly enslaved people. We match Freedman Bank records to the 1870 Census of Population and follow these individuals and their families through later waves of the Census.

If you are interested in the position, please submit application materials at the below link: https://uchicago.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/External/job/Chicago-IL/ResearchProfessional_JR18479. To be considered, you must also complete the survey at https://forms.gle/VtWcfXiLewMLsV7YA. To be considered in our first review, please have your materials submitted by October 16.

1. A cover letter that briefly outlines: (a) your background and career ambitions, (b) your experience in conducting or assisting research projects, (c) your experience with any relevant programming languages (with examples of computer code), (d) the name and email address of any professor for whom you have worked as a research assistant in the last few years (along with a brief description of that role).
2. A current resume and transcript (unofficial is fine but official preferred).
3. Copies of any research output that you have written yourself.

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