We are looking for qualified applications for the position of Research Associate to oversee data collection for a study on ethnicity, conflict, and politics in the city of Kananga, Democratic Republic of Congo. This is an opportunity to gain field research management experience in the context of research in development economics, behavioral economics, and political economy. You will acquire management and analytical skills in this role. The position will require full commitment and long hours in a poor, remote setting.

This 4-month position (August 1, 2018 – December 1, 2019) will be based in Kananga, DRC. You will work with and report to Nathan Nunn (Harvard), James Robinson (University of Chicago), Sara Lowes (Bocconi University), and Jonathan Weigel (LSE).

Project description:

The Research Associate will work on a project seeking to better understand the determinants of ethnic preferences in Africa. Beginning 2014, the PIs have collected information annually on ethnic preferences of randomly chosen individuals in Kananga. We exploit two sources of variation.

First, we examine time variation in political competition between ethnic groups due to a process of decentralization that increase in the number of provinces from 11 to 26 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The decentralization redrew provincial boundaries and thus altered the extent to which different ethnic groups are key players in the political arena. Following the logic in Posner (2004), we will test the impacts of these changes on bilateral ethnic preferences over time.

Second, we investigate the effects of violent conflict on ethnic preferences. From January to May 2017, the Kasai region witnessed frequent fighting between Kamuina Nsapu militia groups and the Congolese military. According to media reports, the violence often had an ethnic dimension. We seek to leverage our panel data collection to understand how this violence shapes ethnic preferences and interethnic relations in the capital city of Kananga.

To date, they have collected information from of 1,300 individuals on their views and preferences towards a range of different target ethnic groups using survey questions, implicit association tests (IATs), as well as a number of lab-in-the-field behavioral games. The research associate will oversee data collection for this project, for the first time since the decentralization and the conflict.

Responsibilities of the Research Associate:

• Managing a team of enumerators, including trainings (in French).
• Preparing and managing project materials.
• Managing project data with Stata.
• Tracking expenses.
• Frequent communication with the principal investigators.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred) in economics, political science, or a related field.
• Strong quantitative skills and competence with Stata
• Excellent management and organizational skills
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Fluency in French required.
• Being detail oriented and able to work independently.
• Familiarity with econometric methods preferred.
• Experience living in a developing country preferred.

Duration: August 1, 2018 – December 1, 2019.

Supervisors: Nathan Nunn (Harvard), James Robinson (University of Chicago), Sara Lowes (Bocconi University), and Jonathan Weigel (LSE).

Monthly Salary: $1,000.

Benefits: All expenses will be covered during the duration of the position, including housing, food, travel and international health insurance.