Joining the New York Fed as a Research Economist

New York Fed economists pursue independent research while also engaging in important policy initiatives at senior levels.

The Research Group recruits both recent Ph.D. recipients and experienced economists. As a new hire, you will join a team of more than sixty economists in supporting the principal missions of the Bank and bring added breadth and depth to the team’s work in the areas of monetary policy, household and public policy, financial intermediation, and financial stability.
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About the position:

The primary goal for new economists is to produce research and publish in the major journals. Our first-year plan allows new economists to devote most of their time to developing publishable work.
New Ph.D. economists familiarize themselves with the Bank’s policy missions by interacting with economists in their area. They may contribute to a team working on a policy issue or help prepare a briefing on economic developments for the Bank’s president and senior officers.

A collegial and collaborative culture:

Economists regularly work together on policy initiatives, and this teamwork encourages a lively camaraderie that can be missing in academic departments.
Economists frequently coauthor articles and make joint presentations.

An environment where ideas flourish:

Teaching activity. Economists have the opportunity to teach while on staff—whether taking a leave of absence from the Bank or teaching part-time while here.
Sabbatical program. Under the program, economists have worked at such institutions as the Federal Reserve Board, Columbia, NYU, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale.
Visiting scholars program. We regularly invite economists from major research institutions to be visiting scholars at the Bank. Visitors present their own work and make themselves available to discuss our economists’ research.
Resident scholars program. Economists with international reputations pursue their own research while providing intellectual leadership by advising and collaborating with Bank economists.
Conferences. The New York Fed sponsors conferences and workshops that draw an elite group of participants from leading universities and business schools and enable Bank economists to interact with top academics in their field.
Seminars. Our economists benefit from the New York Fed’s proximity to top-tier universities, frequently giving seminars at these institutions. We also offer a seminar series that attracts a broad group of distinguished speakers, with several seminars a week.
Tools for policy analysis. Research can result in the development of new tools and indicators for forecasting and policy analysis. Our efforts to share the methodology, code, data visualizations, and commentary help the work gain visibility and draw important feedback from others in the research community.

Dedicated research, technical, and professional resources:

A state-of-the-art computing environment. We provide economists with a wide array of technology resources, the ability to take advantage of real and financial data series, and electronic access to academic journals.
Skilled research analysts. Economists are assisted by forty research analysts who help gather data, conduct statistical analysis, and prepare materials for presentations. Our RAs are typically recent college graduates, many of whom go on to pursue a Ph.D. in economics.
Extensive professional support. Bank economists are supported by a talented team of administrative, computer, editorial, design, and library professionals.

Wide exposure for your research:

Economist web pages. Each page features the economist’s biography and fields of interest as well as links to their CV, publications and working papers, and social-media output.
Liberty Street Economics. Posts by our economists attract large numbers of readers and receive frequent attention from the media and financial bloggers in particular. Liberty Street Economics publishes more than one hundred posts each year.
Economic Policy Review. The Bank’s policy journal features new policy-oriented research by New York Fed economists, papers by affiliated economists, and the proceedings of Bank-sponsored conferences.

Comprehensive beneﬁts program:
In addition to the Bank’s robust package of health, financial, and lifestyle benefits, economists enjoy:

Substantial annual discretionary travel budget
Reimbursement of journal-submission fees
Workplace flexibility
Relaxed, flexible work attire

RESEARCH AREAS BY POLICY FOCUS

HOW WORKING AT THE BANK DIFFERS FROM ACADEMIA

Access to Specialized Data

New York Fed economists have exceptional opportunities to join with others in the coordinated study of specialized economic data.

Center for Microeconomic Data. The New York Fed’s Center for Microeconomic Data is an important hub for research on the expectations and behavior of individual economic agents. Two large data collection projects anchor the Center: the New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax and the Survey of Consumer Expectations. While central banks are often thought to specialize in macroeconomic analysis, the data and research emerging from the Center contribute importantly to the Fed’s policy decisions. The Center’s regular releases are followed closely by government policymakers and the media, and have helped shape public debate on issues such as the nation’s growing student debt burden. The Center’s work has also served as a catalyst for new research by academic economists, who often partner with our economists on studies of this rich body of data.

International Banking Research Network. The International Banking Research Network (IBRN) is a community of central bank researchers who study global banks and their activities. Established in 2012 by a New York Fed economist and researchers from Austria, Germany, and the United Kingdom, the IBRN seeks to improve policy discussion by using bank-level regulatory data in the joint analysis of key questions. Researchers in the network have access to the “micro” data underlying the Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) international banking statistics, a resource that allows them to design experiments and achieve results not possible with studies that draw lessons exclusively from the experience of a single country.

New York Census Research Data Center. The Research Group, on behalf of the New York Fed, helped establish a U.S. Census Bureau Research Data Center in New York City. The Bank is a founding member of the consortium that supports the facility, together with leading universities and research organizations in New York State. At the Data Center, researchers can securely access selected confidential economic and demographic microdata gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau.

PROMOTING DIVERSITY IN ECONOMICS

Collaboration and diversity foster the kind of innovative thinking that leads to critical insights, new analytical techniques, and empirical and theoretical advances. For the Research Group, having diversity in many forms—in gender, ethnicity, and race, in training, and in economic specialization and approach (theorists and empiricists)—is critical.

To that end, the Bank seeks both to advance diversity among our research economists and to take a leadership position in promoting diversity in the economics profession. Recent initiatives in support of these goals include:

Organizing a monthly “lunch and learn” series on topics related to diversity and inclusion in economics to encourage inclusion and allyship within the Research Group and provide an opportunity for junior economists and RAs to interact with more senior members of the group.

Hosting a seminar series featuring research papers on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of economics.

Developing a formal mentoring program that matches RAs and economists to provide RAs with feedback and guidance from established members of the profession.

Hosting two webinar series: one for college professors and students, aimed at furthering awareness of opportunities in the field of economics among students from underrepresented backgrounds; and one for high school educators, particularly in schools in low-income areas and in communities of color, to enable them to foster awareness of economics early in students’ careers. Bank economists and RAs participate in both series, discussing their career paths and why they chose a career in economics.

Access to the Bank’s Employee Resource Networks

Economists can participate in any of the Bank’s ten employee resource networks, which provide professional opportunities for staff to develop leadership skills, shape new initiatives, and facilitate mentoring and networking. The networks also bring in outside speakers, assist with recruiting diverse candidates, and partner with nonprofit and community groups.

AALMA—African American and Latino Men's Alliance

APNA—Asian Professional Networking Alliance

FedAbility—Disabilities Awareness Network

Generations—Multi-generational Network

MOSAIC—Women of Color Network

Nightlight—Evening Shift Staff Network

OPEN—Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender Employees and Allies Network

VETERANS—Military Veterans and Families Network

WFN—Working Families Network

WoMEN—Women’s Mentoring and Empowerment Network

Recognition for LGBTQ Workplace Equality

In 2023, for the fifth year in a row, the New York Fed received a perfect score on the 2023 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.