Consulting firm

Position Title/Short Description

Full Text of JOE Listing:

Part-Time PhD Economist — Composite Index Methodology (Contract)

A management consulting firm is seeking an Economics PhD candidate or a recent PhD to design and enhance a proprietary composite index that combines corporate financial performance with macro-financial and real-economy indicators for a short-term contract.

Engagement: ~3 months | 1–2 days/week | Remote (US Eastern overlap)
Payment: $10,000 USD

What You'll Do
Formalize an existing index framework into a rigorous measurement model and conceptual schema
Evaluate candidate indicators (volatility, policy uncertainty, supply chain stress, labor market, confidence indices) for inclusion
Design and test normalization, weighting, and aggregation methods (z-scores, PCA/factor models, robustness analysis)
Link the composite index to historical survey data to assess stability and leading/coincident properties
Document methodology clearly and communicate findings to non-technical stakeholders

Ideal Candidate
PhD candidate or recent PhD in Economics, Econometrics, Statistics, or a related quantitative field
Experience building composite or leading indicators; familiarity with OECD/UNECE guidance a plus
Proficiency in R, Stata, or Python
Comfortable translating technical findings into executive-ready insights

To Apply: Submit a CV, a short cover note (300 words or less), and one applied quantitative work sample (e.g., job market paper section, working paper, or project write-up)