Alex Armand and Joseph Gomes seek one Research Assistants (RA) for the academic year 2017 to work on the project “Learning from a Publicly Subsidized Agricultural Insurance: evidence from Bolivia”. The position needs to be filled as soon as possible.

The period of work will terminate at the end of September 2017 and will be based on a competitive hourly salary. The candidate should expect to work a maximum of 40 days until the end of September. The candidate can work remotely.

During the collaboration, the RA will be working in team with the Principal Investigators (PIs) on the following duties:

1. Work in conjunction with the PIs on data cleaning and data analysis;
2. Perform independent analysis of secondary data and collaborate with the PIs in the preparation of one or more research papers. The candidate will be considered for co-authorship given the level of their contribution to the project;
3. Support the PIs in disseminating the results through report writing, presentations and policy briefs;
4. Support the PIs in the design of a large scale RCT to be submitted for funding at the end of 2017. The possibility of an extension of the collaboration into the future implementation of the RCT will be considered at the end of the project;

Applicants should be in their second or third year into a PhD degree in economics or other related disciplines with a strong interest in field experiments and applied economic research. The candidate should have demonstrated interest on impact evaluation and development economics and have experience with survey data and familiarity with RCTs. The candidate should have strong quantitative and data analysis skills, with expertise on panel data methods and regression discontinuity. Experience with GIS software will be an advantage. The candidate should be confident with the use of different data management software, be proficient in the use of STATA and have excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Applications should consist of:

• Curriculum vitae;
• Expression of interest cover letter outlining how you would be able to contribute to the project in light of your research interests;
• The name of one referee.

Please direct the application materials and any questions you may have to NCID Recruitment (ncid.jobs@unav.es).

Short description of the project

Farmers face the risk of crop and livestock loss from a number of sources, including weather, diseases and price shocks. Smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable, as they do not have the resources to take preventive measures or absorb shocks. In the absence of formal insurance, poor households modify their livelihoods to mitigate and cope with these risks. Uncertainty about the returns to agricultural investments, especially for smallholder farmers, can have significant impacts on the decisions and the welfare of the poorest families. This project will estimate the effect of providing a publicly subsidized insurance to smallholder farmers in Bolivia on all these dimensions.

Picture by: Mark Robinson.