Ex-combatants, homeless youth, drug dealers, street vendors, junkies, and petty criminals. Could there be a more interesting study population? We’re studying economic and violent behavior and ways to change it. More on our Liberia street youth project here.
We are looking for a superstar research assistant on the ground to work with me, my colleagues (a behavioral economist and a cognitive neuropsychologist), and a big team on the ground. The job posting is here.
What are we looking for? This is a perfect job for someone with a BA or an MA and looking for a couple of years experience before heading to a PhD in economics or political science. People of all skills and stripes should apply. But I have star managers and ethnographers already, and we need someone with technical skills, especially stats and Stata experience. Some of my best field people were Federal reserve or treasury RAs, with no field experience, which they have now got in spades.
P.S. Please apply at the IPA site, not to me directly. I don’t get involved until the short list stage.
11 Responses
I think he’s trying to help, no? And he was trying to make the job position appealing to someone looking for an interesting job, right? If someone makes too flippant a remark or something like that, though, but is actually trying to help, wouldn’t the better response be to teach them, rather than to tell them to stay away?
Looking for information about Liberia, I felt on your post, and straight away had been disgusted about it!
I thanks Richard and Lieway who put it right to you. I am an African, french speaker, and I’m very very protective about my Africans brothers, especially Liberians who did suffers years of horrible pains & suffering. These people have got nothing, they just need HELP and lot of it, not somebody who want to help himself on their back & waste their time studuying them when they’re starving on the street; how could you?? You’re so selfish that it’s obvious these simple facts didn’t even cross your mind. Please Chris, you little spoiled brat, stay AWAY FROM US, we’ve got too much pain to bear in Africa to, on top of that, having to entertain you!!!!
I would like to add to what the last poster has written, as a “layman” who is currently in Liberia, working on a technical project for a few weeks no more.
Someone who refers to citizens of a country as an “interesting study population” has no business working with them. You are quite clearly neither emotionally nor politically prepared for this kind of role. Your crass arrogance is shocking and your ignorance says nothing good about the institution you are associated with. You should quite frankly feel ashamed.
I would like to add to what the last poster has written, as a “layman” who is currently in Liberia, working on a technical project for a few eeks no more.
Soemone who refers to citizens of a country ar an “interesting study popualtion” has no business working with them. You are quite clearly neither emotionally nor politically prepared for this kind of role. Your crass arrogance is shocking and your ignorance says nothing good about the institution you are associated with. You should quite frankly feel ashamed.
Hi Chris, your emotional description of the people of Liberia flippantly violates the core objectives of professional and academic life, which seeks to promote objective, cultivate excellence, and minimize biases. It is academically and politically correct in the US not to libel some Americans as American Indians (but Native Americans), Blacks (but African Americans), Chicana (but Asian Americans), and the list goes on. However, it is free to libel Liberians as “Criminals”, “Junkies”, “Street Venders” “Drugs Dealers.” The academic and professional attitudes displayed in your post clearly violate research ethics, assume biases, disregard diversity, and show lack of cultural competence. If you publicly display such unprofessionally biased attitude, what more can one say about your research findings and reports? It is sad that ethnocentrism and racism has truly assumed a different form and posture, even among acclaimed academicians.
Nice post there its good to do a study for the benefit of a undeveloped country . May be this is helpful to them in Liberia.
I reckon this is a great opportunity…and hey I have RA experience at the BoE !
…..Though I have a vague recollection of one of your posts a few weeks (months?) ago saying that if you were to pick dev research like stocks you would go short on RCTs…
It’s not great news if the PI I’m working for thinks what I’m doing is a suboptimal use of my time….
Oh no.. I’ll be waiting impatiently for the grand finale!
We would love to meet up with you guys in Liberia! We work with children, primarily girls, in West Point with educational access. We are an all volunteer nonprofit except for 1 on the ground Liberian staff member who resides in West Point. We can connect you if interested–let us know!
Not necessarily. But you don’t want me to spoil the ending, do you?
Sorry Chris, but placing street traders between “junkies” and “drug dealers” seems a little odd to me. Are they such a problem to the Liberian society?