The Development Economics Group (DEC) at ETH Zurich is dedicated to empirical economics research that can inform more effective policies to reduce global poverty and inequalities. Our goal is to develop social innovations to reduce global poverty and inequality. We conduct empirical and experimental economic research.

The Development Economics Group (ETH-DEC) is offering a research assistant position in Development Economics. The starting date is the 1st of September 2026 for 6 months. Payment per month.

This is a position to get some research experience between a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. program.

• You will work on cleaning data sets and conducting or reproducing statistical analysis in preparation for academic publications
• You will also be responsible for visualizing results, literature reviews and data search
• Last, you will be involved in organizational tasks related to running our research group

• You have a Master’s degree in economics, statistics or development studies
• You have a strong background in quantitative methods and are excited to code
• You are interested in topics of global poverty and inequality
• You have a good knowledge of the statistical software R and/or STATA
• You speak and write English fluently
• Knowledge of InDesign is a plus, but not required
• Knowledge of French or German is a plus, but not required
• Experience in working for an international organization engaged in global development is a plus, but not required

Our team: We are an international team of highly motivated economists and data scientists interested in analyzing global inequalities and contributing to global development solutions. Our research group is closely linked to NADEL, a multidisciplinary team educating future decision-makers for global cooperation and development, and ETH4D, which links researchers with civil society, NGOs, governments, and industry to develop and scale innovations for the global population.

Our values: We value open discourse, diversity, and empathy. We are curious about new approaches to research, enjoy interdisciplinary research, and encourage public service. 

We look forward to receiving your online application with the following documents by June 5th, 2026:

• 1-page Cover Letter
• CV
• Your Master thesis
• Master's degree
• In addition, you should ask for one academic reference letter to be sent by June 10th, 2026, directly to Celine Aeschbacher, [email protected] (no applications) 

Further information about our research group can be found on our Website. Questions regarding the position should be directed to Kenneth Harttgen, [email protected] (no applications).

Please note that we exclusively accept applications submitted through our online application portal. Applications via email or postal services will not be considered.

Interviews will take place at the beginning of July.