Junior Researcher in Economic and Social Policy Evaluation

The section of Health Economics and Social Policy Design at KOF Swiss Economic Institute is looking for a Junior Researcher in Economic and Social Policy Evaluation (80-100%, 1 year fixed term, possibility for extention by another year, start by May 19 or by agreement). 

In collaboration with private and public organizations, our team uses insights from behavioral economics and other social sciences to develop innovative policy designs and rigorously test them to promote evidence-based, social and economic integration, particular of disadvantaged groups, and to strengthen society more generally. 

The KOF Swiss Economic Institute at ETH Zurich is the leading institute for applied research in economics in Switzerland. KOF has a strong collaborative environment that promotes exchange between research and administrative staff at different levels and in different functions and is committed to rigorous, applied research on policy-relevant topics with a connection to Switzerland.

You will work mostly on two ongoing or planned large-scale field experiments that contribute to this mission in collaboration with Prof. Michel Maréchal at the University of Zurich.

The first project, in collaboration with the Cantons of Zurich and Berne and supported by the Swiss Federal Justice Department, tests two interventions in pretrial detention facilities in both Cantons to improve the mental health of prisoners and facilitate their re-integration after release. The second project are two pilot trials mandated by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health that evaluate the socio-economic impact of access to legal Cannabis. 

Your primary tasks will be to support the team in the general management, coordination, and monitoring of the field projects and in the coordination, collection, management, and analysis of project data. This data includes survey data as well as register data from health insurance companies and the Swiss federal government. To do so, you will collaborate closely with the project’s core research team as well as various stakeholders who contribute to the project.

We are looking for an outstanding team member who is curious, entrepreneurial, and enthusiastic about producing rigorous scientific evidence to improve social and economic policies.

Your profile: 

• Completed master’s degree (or close to graduation) in economics, political science, or other quantitative social science
• Very good planning and coordination skills
• Solid foundations in causal inference methods (e.g., randomized experiments, difference-in-differences, and instrumental variables). 
• Proficiency in the statistical software package Stata and/or R (Python is a plus)
• Prior experience with data cleaning and management 
• Fluency in German and English
• Excellent writing skills (in German and English) 
• Very good communication skills to engage with various stakeholders
• Strong interest in applied scientific research, ideally in field experiments, behavioral economics, or applied microeconomics (an interest in pursuing a PhD at a later stage is a plus but not necessary)

• Hands-on experience in contributing to the conduct of several large-scale field experiments in collaboration with policy makers in Switzerland. You will be involved and can develop your skills in: 
  • Collection of large scale administrative and survey data 
  • Managing, cleaning, and creating raw data sets
  • Managing and coordinating two large-scale projects with a large research team and various policy stakeholders
  • Contract negotiation
  • Survey design and implementation
  • Monitoring of study and survey operations
  • Econometric analysis
  • Writing memos and making short presentations (in German and English) for key stakeholders
• Highly collaborative work environment: you will be working closely together with the project team
• Professional supervision by experienced researchers, supporting you in your career development as a data scientist / applied econometrician / quantitative social scientist
• Salary and pension benefits according to ETH regulation.