New York University Abu Dhabi

Position Title/Short Description

Full Text of JOE Listing:

Research Associate in Behavioral Social Science or Market Design
Center for Behavioral Institutional Design
NYU Abu Dhabi

The newly established Center for Behavioral Institutional Design, New York University Abu Dhabi, seeks to recruit several postdoctoral researchers 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.

The ideal candidate is ambitious, well-trained, self-motivated, hard-working, equally capable of working alone and as part of a team, and holds a PhD in economics or a related field. The position requires 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.

Job Description:
The position holder must be interested in applying insights from behavioral and experimental economics, or market and mechanism design, to the design of real-world policies, and in using controlled experiments to test the policies before they are implemented. The responsibilities of the position holder may include surveying the relevant literature; analyzing survey and experimental data; organizing and running lab, field or online experiments; and drafting reports summarizing the research findings. The ideal candidate will be able to perform well independently and in a team, and under time pressure.

Selected candidates will work closely with the C-BID team: Olivier Bochet, Ernesto Reuben, Nikos Nikiforakis, and John Wooders.

The position provides a salary higher than internationally competitive rates for research associate positions, in addition to substantial benefits (generous housing, transportation and travel allowances, educational subsidies for children), together with full health insurance and retirement contributions. The UAE does not levy income tax.

Appointments will be for two years, renewable for at least an additional year conditional on a satisfactory evaluation of performance.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and candidates will be considered until the position is filled. To be considered, applicants must submit a curriculum vitae, a research statement highlighting past and current research experience, and at least two reference letters, all in PDF format, to: https://apply.interfolio.com/81093. Note that this position is NOT located in the United States. You must be willing to relocate to Abu Dhabi, UAE. Please visit our website at https://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/about/careers/postdoctoral-and-research.html for instructions and information on how to apply.

For any questions, please email: Nikos Nikiforakis (n.nikiforakis@gmail.com) or John Wooders (john.wooders@nyu.edu).

About the Center of Behavioral Institutional Design
The overarching goal of C-BID 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 will bring 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 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.

About NYUAD
NYU Abu Dhabi is a degree-granting research university with a fully integrated liberal arts and science undergraduate program in the Arts, Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Engineering. NYU Abu Dhabi, NYU New York, and NYU Shanghai, form the backbone of NYU’s global network university, an interconnected network of portal campuses and academic centers across six continents that enable seamless international mobility of students and faculty in their pursuit of academic and scholarly activity. This global university represents a transformative shift in higher education, one in which the intellectual and creative endeavors of academia are shaped and examined through an international and multicultural perspective. As a major intellectual hub at the crossroads of the Arab world, NYUAD serves as a center for scholarly thought, advanced research, knowledge creation, and sharing, through its academic, research, and creative activities.

UAE Nationals are encouraged to apply.