What are the responsibilities and job description for the Research Associate, Economist position at ECS Federal, LLC?
ECS is seeking a Research Associate, Economist to work remotely.
ECS seeks a full-time, remote Research Associate, Economist to support the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. The Economist may choose to work on-site at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, MA or fully remote. A government-furnished laptop will be provided. Occasional domestic travel may be required for meetings.
The position will support the Northeast Climate Integrated Modeling (NCLIM) Initiative, which is a multi-disciplinary project that aims to better understand the impacts of climate variability and climate change on the marine environment, stocks of fish, and the communities and economies that depend on them. Team members include oceanographers, fisheries scientists, and economists at NOAA and in academia.
Changes in environmental conditions, management, and economic conditions drive changes in human behavior. In close partnership with academic researchers, we will examine the joint effects of local (state-level) regulations and changes in the locations of stocks of fish on the communities and industries that rely on them. The position will work with the team to address questions that include:
- How will fishing fleets respond to a changing climate and changing species availability
- in terms of potential adaptation strategies, including targeting, timing, and diversification strategies?
- How do differences in local regulations impact the timing, targeting, and economic geography of a fishery?
- What institutional and strategic processes influence how these local regulations arise?
- Which communities will benefit and which communities will suffer as the distribution of fish stocks changes?
Primary Tasks:
The primary task is to develop and parameterize econometric models to answer the above questions. Empirical methods are likely to include discrete choice, production economics, and quasi-experimental methods. Theoretical models may include Random Utility Models, Production Theory, and Political Economy. The following sub-tasks are likely:
- Review and synthesize the existing related literature to determine appropriate methods.
- Develop and estimate econometric models of fishing vessel behavior to answer the above research questions.
- Prepare internal (NMFS) data necessary to estimate econometric models. Collect and prepare external data necessary to estimate and interpret econometric models. Document work through scholarly articles and functional code.
- Support the NCLIM modeling effort by improving software and participating collaboratively in team meetings.
- Attend NEFMC council meetings to understand management needs as necessary.
- Integrate into the scientific community by attending Social Science Branch meetings and other organizational meetings as necessary.
- Formally share the results of the research through technical and scientific writing and present research findings at scientific meetings.
Deliverables:
- Reproducible and annotated code used to prepare data and estimate econometric models.
- Reports such as scholarly articles suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal or technical memoranda.
- Presentation at internal and external meetings of fishery managers and social scientists.
- Demonstrated experience working collaboratively on multidisciplinary teams to develop joint products.
- Demonstrated experience with both formulating research questions and executing the quantitative research necessary to answer those questions.
- An advanced degree in a relevant field. PhD preferred. Will also accept a Master's Degree plus relevant experience. Relevant fields include: economics, applied economics, applied social science, fisheries science, computer science, data science, or related fields.
- Proficiency in R, stata, or other statistical software.
Req Benefits:
Salary : $60,000 - $80,000
