Research Assistant

Description:

The newly established Center for Behavioral Institutional Design (C-BID), New York University Abu Dhabi, is inviting applications for a Research Assistant interested in exploring the origins of human behavioral diversity, developing empirically-informed models of human behavior, and designing innovative institutions and policies for promoting social welfare.

This position is designed for candidates with background in Economics, but is also suited for candidates from a broad range of disciplines such as Social and Behavioral Sciences, Mathematics, and computer science. Ideally, the candidate will have some expertise in either experimental, empirical, or theoretical methods or, ideally, a combination of these methods. Excellent communication skills in English, the ability to work in multidisciplinary teams, and scientific creativity are essential.

The applicant will work in a uniquely multidisciplinary environment consisting of 4 NYUAD faculty, several post-docs, graduate students and undergraduate students, and a large network of international world-renowned collaborators. C-BID goal is to construct empirically-validated models of human behavior and use them to design and implement policies and institutions that will improve social welfare. For this purpose, C-BID brings together faculty from across the NYU Global Network, across the social and behavioral sciences (economists, political scientists, psychologists, sociologists, and neuro-scientists), as well as leading policymakers, to establish a globally-recognized knowledge hub for behavioral social science and public policy. The successful applicant will work in close collaboration with the C-BID team: Olivier Bochet, Ernesto Reuben, Nikos Nikiforakis, and John Wooders.

The Center for Behavioral Institutional Design is organized around three closely-intertwined research clusters:

Cluster 1: Rigorously explores the social, neurobiological, and institutional underpinnings of preferences, expectations, and, ultimately, behavior.

Cluster 2: Uses insights from Cluster 1 about the causes and consequences of behavioral diversity to design institutions, policies, markets, and rules that enhance social and economic welfare. An innovation of this cluster is to embrace the centrality of human diversity in the institutional design problem.

Cluster 3: Uses the insights obtained from research in Clusters 1 and 2 to design smart and welfare-enhancing behavioral institutions and policies that take into account the specific socio-economic context in which they are embedded. C-BID seeks to expand on its existing relationships with local public and private partners to apply the latest scientific insights from behavioral social science research to the solution of practical real-world problems.

UAE nationals are encouraged to apply. Applicants are encouraged to discuss their research interests with the center leadership to fine-tune the details of their duties and research project.

Responsibilities Of The Position
 

• Depending on the specific project, responsibilities can range from data collection, interpretation, and analysis, to the development and test of new tools, and methods.
   

Essential Qualifications
 

• A Bachelor or Master’s degree in Economics (or related field), but also a broader range of disciplines including Social and Behavioral Sciences, Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science.
   

Preferred Experience
 

• Previous research experience in behavioral social science is desirable.