Research Assistant, Economic Policy Studies

Overview

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) seeks a full-time, in-person research assistant to work with economic policy fellows on a wide variety of issues related to tax policy, public finance, and international macroeconomics. The new research assistant will begin in summer 2026.

Qualified candidates should submit a resume, cover letter demonstrating their interest in AEI’s mission, academic transcript, and writing sample that demonstrates their ability to organize and manipulate data and use econometric methods for analysis.

Responsibilities

• Core Responsibilities
• • Under the guidance of more experienced researchers, perform library, online, bibliographic, and investigative research and writing for papers, studies, and reports on tax policy.
  • Support research through data manipulation, retrieval, analysis, entry, and extraction.
  • Edit and contribute to scholarly papers, articles for a general audience, op-eds, and books.
  • Create and format charts, graphic displays, and tables.
• Additional Responsibilities
• • Conduct literature searches of various national and international publications.
  • Summarize select articles and reports.
  • Coordinate public events and private meetings.
  • Post content on the AEI website.

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions at AEI

• The employee is regularly expected to stand, sit, talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer, telephone, and keyboard. This job requires close-up vision for computer work.
• The employee must be able to lift up to 30 pounds.
• The employee must be able to work in a confined area.
• Moderate noise (e.g., from computers, phones, printers, and light traffic) is expected.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential responsibilities associated with this position.

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in economics or mathematics, conferred by the start date, is required
• 0–2 years of previous applicable full-time work experience is required; previous internship experience is strongly preferred.
• Experience using Stata, R, and Excel is required.
• Experience using Python is preferred.
• A demonstrated interest in economics and public policy is required.
• A strong math or statistics background is required, and coursework in linear algebra, multivariable calculus, and econometrics is strongly preferred.

BenefitsAEI offers generous benefits, including 18 days of paid leave (15 days of paid annual leave and three personal days or floating holidays); 12 days of paid sick leave; paid family leave; medical and dental coverage, in addition to a health savings account; medical and dependent care flexible spending accounts; a tuition assistance program of up to $5,200; life and disability insurance at no cost to employees; and a 403(b) retirement plan with a contribution from AEI, among other benefits. For more information, you can see a full summary of our benefits at https://www.aei.org/jobs/benefits/.

Compensation is based on a number of factors, including but not limited to: scope and responsibilities of the position; a candidate's full-time, applicable work experience; key skills and qualifications; as well as internal and external market considerations. The salary range for this full-time, exempt position is $50,000 - $54,000. Salary is just one component of AEI’s total compensation package for employees.