2021-22 "Improving State Effectiveness through Bureaucrat Assignment: Evidence from the Democratic Republic of Congo"
The Stanford King Center on Global Development’s Academic Year Part-Time Research Assistant Program connects King Center faculty affiliates and affiliated researchers with undergraduate and master's students committed to providing research support for up to 15 hours per week during fall, winter, and spring quarters.
Students have the opportunity to engage in world-class research and have real-world impact. Undergraduate student research assistants earn $17.50 per hour and master's student research assistants earn $25 per hour. Research assistants can work a maximum of 15 hours per week. Students must be enrolled full-time to participate.
RESEARCH PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The research assistant will work on several ongoing research projects, including but not limited to the following topics: (1) the optimal allocation of bureaucrats to teams and tasks, (2) the effects of taxation on bureaucrats’ performance and public goods provision, (3) the effects of progressive taxation on compliance, revenues, and the social contract.
This is an opportunity to gain research experience in development economics, including experience analyzing data from large-scale randomized controlled trials conducted by the PI in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Research mentor: Augustin Bergeron (Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford King Center on Global Development)
- Cleaning and managing project data with Stata and R
- Analyzing project data with Stata and R
- Conducting literature reviews
- Stanford undergraduate students in good academic standing are eligible to apply
- All majors are welcome
- Bachelor degree in economics or a related field
- Strong quantitative skills
- Familiarity with randomized evaluations and econometric methods
- Extensive experience with Stata and R
- Being detail-oriented and able to work independently
Time Commitment:
10-15 hours per week during the academic year
To Apply:
Along with the application, applicants are asked to submit a cover letter, resume or CV, and a Stanford transcript (if an incoming freshman, applicants need not submit a transcript for fall quarter applications).
