Resources for the Future

Position Title/Short Description

Full Text of JOE Listing:

Resources for the Future (RFF) currently has an opening for a postdoctoral researcher in its Land, Water, and Nature Program. Pending final approval of funds, we seek a postdoctoral economist to contribute to a new initiative focused on innovative approaches to the quantitative modeling and empirical analysis of coupled ecological and economic systems. The premise of the initiative is that better integration, and reconciliation, of economic and ecological models is central to the identification of environmental challenges, prediction of social and ecological outcomes, and articulation of effective natural resource management and policy solutions. The position is a unique opportunity for a postdoctoral fellow to advance the frontiers of socio-environmental analysis, work closely with RFF fellows and senior fellows, and engage with a much larger, and methodologically diverse, community of outside researchers who will also be part of the work. The initiative is being supported by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC.org) and will involve collaboration with SESYNC’s community of scholars. RFF is particularly interested in candidates able to model spatial and temporal relationships between social and biophysical systems and who work on the economic and social aspects of one or more natural resource issues (e.g., aquatic system restoration, private land stewardship, species management, fisheries policy). The portfolio of work can adapt to the successful candidate’s interests and skills but could involve cross-system network analysis, hydro-economic modeling, or behavioral bio-economic and or agent-based modeling.

RFF is committed to scholarly excellence and offers an outstanding environment for academic publication and high-level communication of research to academic and policy audiences. A parallel, postdoctoral hire from the ecological sciences will also be made. The two post docs will collaborate closely under this initiative and join a larger cohort of post docs in residence at RFF.

Qualifications:

All candidates should have (i) a PhD completed prior to beginning the postdoc, (ii) excellent written communication skills, (iii) facility in assembling, manipulating, and analyzing datasets, (iv) the ability and desire to collaborate with a team of RFF Research Fellows and Research Assistants, and (v) experience with and enthusiasm for multi-disciplinary research and engagement. We particularly seek applicants with skill in quantitative modeling. We are open to a range of modeling expertise related to economic and social behavior, including bio-economic, agent-based, behavioral, and network models. Candidates are also asked to list experience with specific software tools such as Stata, R, Matlab, SAS, GAMS, ArcGIS, and Python.

Annual salary is $80,000. The position is for a one-year appointment with the expectation of renewal for a second year upon satisfactory performance. The start date is negotiable but can be no later than September 2018. The position provides some support for independent research, including publishing papers from a completed dissertation. RFF offers a competitive salary and employee benefits. Review of applications will begin March 26, 2018 and continue until the position is filled.

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RFF is an equal opportunity employer. Women, minorities and veterans are encouraged to apply.