Joining the New York Fed as a Research Economist

The New York Fed recruits both new Ph.D.s and experienced economists for positions in the Research Group. As a new hire, you will join a team of sixty economists as they support the principal missions of the Bank through leading-edge research and rigorous policy analysis.

First-year plan:

• 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 and 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.

• Adding to the collegial nature of the Research Group is the frequent interaction between senior and junior staff.

An environment where ideas flourish:

• Teaching activity. Economists enjoy 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.

• A gateway to academia. Many of our senior economists come from university economics and finance faculties. In turn, a number of our economists have gone on to accept faculty positions at prestigious colleges and universities, including Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Georgetown, NYU, the University of Chicago, and Oxford.

• Conferences. The New York Fed sponsors three to four major conferences and one or two workshops each year, drawing an elite group of participants from leading universities and business schools and enabling Bank economists to interact with top academics in their field. In recent years, we’ve cosponsored conferences with Columbia, Harvard, NYU, and Princeton.

• Seminars. The Group benefits from the New York Fed’s proximity to top-tier universities. Our economists frequently give seminars at these institutions. In addition, we offer a seminar series that attracts a broad group of distinguished speakers, with several seminars a week.

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 who intend to pursue a Ph.D. in economics. Many go on to top-five programs.

• Extensive professional support. Bank economists are supported by a talented team of administrative, computer, editorial, design, and library professionals.

Wide exposure for your research:

• Personal web pages.   Each page features the economist’s biography and fields of interest as well as links to CV, publications and working papers, and social-media output. These pages are among the most visited on our website.

• Liberty Street Economics. Posts on our blog 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.

Capital Markets

The Capital Markets Function conducts research and policy analysis on asset pricing and market microstructure and on the interaction between markets, institutions, and the macroeconomy. A close working relationship with the Bank’s Trading Desk, well-established contacts with market participants, and strong ties to business school finance departments create a unique environment for financial market research.

Financial Intermediation

The Financial Intermediation staff conducts research and policy analysis on issues relating to financial intermediation and financial markets, including the behavior and health of financial institutions, financial market innovation, and the development of appropriate supervisory tools and techniques. Economists examine these issues from both a macroeconomic and a microeconomic perspective, with an emphasis on the performance and stability of financial markets and core institutions.

International Research

The International Research Function conducts research and policy analysis on international economics, examining issues in open-economy macroeconomics, global finance, and trade. Staff research is published in academic journals and Federal Reserve publications and is designed to contribute to the Bank’s overall perspective on international issues.

Macroeconomic and Monetary Studies

Economists in the Macroeconomic and Monetary Studies Function conduct scholarly research on macroeconomics and monetary economics for publication in academic journals. They also provide rigorous analysis of current economic, fiscal, and monetary conditions and advise senior Bank management on monetary policy.

Microeconomic Studies

The Microeconomic Studies Function contributes to the Bank’s monetary and financial policy missions through the construction and analysis of a wide array of micro data sets and the application of relevant microeconomic theory and state-of-the-art econometric techniques. In addition, staff conduct long-term research in applied microeconomic topics, including labor economics, public finance, consumer finance, housing, urban economics, and health economics.

Money and Payments Studies

The Money and Payments Studies Function focuses its research on the infrastructures that allow our financial system to operate—such as payment and settlement arrangements—and the institutions that operate them—such as clearinghouses. Important elements of study are the money markets (including the federal funds market, the Eurodollar markets, and the repo market), especially their interbank and interdealer segments. Economists explore the markets’ institutional details and their role in affecting funding and market liquidity, financial stability, and the design of optimal micro- and macroprudential policies.

Regional Analysis

The Regional Analysis Function engages in research on issues of interest to the Second Federal Reserve District in support of the Bank’s monetary policy and outreach objectives. The Function also analyzes and monitors economic developments in the region and shares the information obtained with stakeholders in the Bank and throughout the District.

Our economists engage in a variety of innovative research projects, some reflecting their independent research interests and others grounded in their policy work for the Bank. Here are just a few examples:

Mary Amiti  
Trade finance; effects of trade liberalization on productivity, prices, wages, the wage skill premium, and product quality.

Nina Boyarchenko  
Research examining how large financial institutions participate in credit markets and how these choices affect the pricing and liquidity of credit instruments.

Thomas Eisenbach  
Research on the effect of horizon-dependent risk aversion on individual behavior and equilibrium asset prices.

Domenico Giannone
Nowcasting, forecasting, and policy analysis with big data.

Sebastian Heise  
Empirical and theoretical research on producer prices and customer-supplier relationships in international trade; research on the spatial mobility of workers.

Gizem Kosar 
Empirical and theoretical  research on public assistance programs, taxes, and consumer bankruptcy.

Gabriele La Spada 
Theoretical and empirical research on money-like assets and monetary policy transmission through mutual funds.

David Lucca  
Research on the economics of supervision for large, complex financial institutions and on the monetary policy transmission mechanism.

Matthew Plosser  
Empirical research related to the supervision and regulation of financial institutions, household borrowing behavior, private equity, and monetary policy announcement effects.

Ayşegül Şahin 
Theoretical and empirical research on labor market dynamics, with an emphasis on the causes and consequences of long-run labor market trends.

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. The Consumer Credit Panel gathers quarterly data on the individual- and household-level liabilities of a nationally representative sample of U.S. households, including mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, and student loans. The Survey of Consumer Expectations collects information on a variety of household expectations regarding inflation, future earnings, income, house prices, access to credit, layoff risk, and U.S. economic conditions overall.

While central banks are often thought to specialize in macroeconomic analysis, the data and research emerging from the Center for Microeconomic Data 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.

The IBRN’s first project, implemented by eleven countries, explored how funding shocks affecting parent banks were transmitted to foreign countries through cross-border banking activities. Its second project examined the effects of macroprudential policy changes on global banks’ lending and funding in their home countries and abroad. Researchers from sixteen central banks, the BIS, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Systemic Risk Board participated in the project, which illuminated why banks in different countries may have responded differently to policies enacted in the wake of the global financial crisis. Currently, the network is focusing its efforts on international monetary spillovers.

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 who have completed a rigorous project review process can securely access selected confidential economic and demographic microdata gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau. Bank economists may use the facility with no additional lab fees or the need to travel.

The New York Fed’s unique role in the Federal Reserve System enables Bank economists in our seven research functions to take part in important policy initiatives. Key activities include:

• Capital Markets contributes to the formulation of monetary policy and the monitoring of financial stability by developing new analytical tools and providing rigorous analysis to senior Bank management.
• Financial Intermediation conducts research and policy analysis on issues relating to financial intermediation and financial markets, including the behavior and health of financial institutions, financial market innovation, and the development of supervisory tools and techniques.
• International Research conducts research and policy analysis on global macroeconomic, trade, and finance issues affecting the economy and monetary policy of the United States.
• Macroeconomic and Monetary Studies advises senior Bank management on monetary policy issues through regular briefings in advance of each FOMC meeting. They monitor and analyze current economic and financial conditions and assess risks to the outlook.
• Microeconomic Studies provides policy advice on a variety of subjects, ranging from auction design to state and local fiscal policy, with a special focus on consumer behavior. The Function also plays a unique role in the development of new micro data sets.
• Money and Payments Studies analyzes the infrastructure at the heart of the financial system. Key elements of study are the interbank and money markets as well as payments and settlement systems.
• The Regional Analysis staff analyzes and monitors regional economic conditions, with an emphasis on developments in the Second Federal Reserve District.

• Robust benefits program including medical, dental, prescription, and vision-care plans, retirement savings plan with 401(k) and Roth 401(k), pension plan, subsidy for commuting costs, onsite fitness center, and maternity, paternity, and adoption benefits
• Substantial annual discretionary travel budget
• Reimbursement of journal-submission fees
• Ability to telecommute once a week

1.  I would like to apply for an economist position in the New York Fed’s Research and Statistics Group.  What documents are needed to complete my application?

For your application to be complete, you must provide a cover letter, up to three research papers (including your market paper, if available), and three letters of recommendation, which should be submitted directly by your references. As you go through the online submission tool, you will also be asked to enter the year of your Ph.D. (even if it’s an expected date), your primary and secondary fields of study, the title of your market paper, the names of your advisors, and your references’ names and contact email addresses. Please complete all fields.

2.   Is there an email address to which my references can email their letters of recommendation directly?  

No. Our recruitment system will send an automatically generated email to the addresses of the three references you provide; the email will outline the submission process for the letters. If your references do not receive the email promptly, please ask them to check their spam folder; the request comes from federalreservesystem@invalidemail.com. If your three references continue to encounter issues, you may direct them to send the letters to NY HR Fed Careers. 

3.  How many references can I include? 

We request that you provide names and contact emails for three references. System-generated emails will only be sent to the first three addresses you provide; others will not receive the emailed instructions.

4.  My reference is unable to upload a letter of recommendation because the file size of the letter exceeds the recruitment system’s maximum of 1.6 megabytes. Can you provide an alternate link or email address to which letters with large file sizes may be sent?   

Yes, please direct your reference to send his or her recommendation letter to NY HR Fed Careers.

5.  Do I need to hold U.S. citizenship to work as an economist at the New York Fed?

Working as an economist at the New York Fed requires access to varying levels of sensitive information. For some levels of sensitive information, access may be restricted to “Protected Individuals,” as defined in U.S. federal law. Protected Individuals include, but are not limited to, U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, U.S. permanent residents who are not yet eligible to apply for naturalization, and U.S. permanent residents who have applied for naturalization within six months of being eligible to do so. Protected Individuals also include those with a Ph.D. in economics or finance who meet certain immigration and other legal requirements.