Title: Development Economics Communications Intern
Employer: Economic Growth Center at Yale University
Start date: TBD
End date: TBD
Expected weekly hours: 10 hours during the school year; full-time positions available during summer
To apply: Contact egc@yale.edu, and submit the materials listed below
The Role
The Yale Economic Growth Center seeks a student with writing and communications skills and strong economics coursework to serve as Development Economics Research Communications Intern for the academic year. This internship will allow a candidate with a strong background in economics as well as research, writing, and communications skills the opportunity to write content about current research in development economics. The successful candidate may also contribute to other communications efforts by gathering and synthesizing information to be used in articles directed toward the public (via profiles, op-eds and blogs), academic audiences (research summaries), and policymakers (policy briefs). The goal is to convey research insights for policy to improve lives in developing countries.
Our internships offer an opportunities to work with Yale economics faculty and visitors, and also receive coaching in writing and editing, and participate in a vibrant community of interns, postgraduate fellows, and researchers. The intern will author articles to be published on Yale websites and external outlets, and also support a wide range of communications activities related to economics and policy research, including website building, event planning, researching contacts, and working in multimedia platforms. This is a dynamic research portfolio which allows for creativity and growth, and tasks may change as the agenda develops.
We invite applications from people of diverse backgrounds, particularly women, members of minority groups, protected veterans, persons with disabilities, and others who have been historically underrepresented in the field of economics. Yale is an Affirmative Action Equal Opportunity Employer, and values diversity in its faculty, students, and staff.
Responsibilities
- Conduct desk research to gather and summarize data and other background information relevant to economics writing
- Conduct interviews to use in researcher profiles and research summaries
- Identify, document, review, and summarize relevant research and news articles
- Source images, draft, and edit website text, and build webpages
- Organize and store all background research in readily searchable and citable format
- Support article proofing and grammar edits of text, as requested
- Assist in building an audience on social media
- Assist in building a database of contacts
- Other tasks as needed
Qualifications
- Significant coursework in economics
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Background in public policy and/or journalism is desired
- Ability to work independently
- Strong organizational skills and ability to multitask effectively
- Website and design skills are desired
How to Apply
Please contact egc@yale.edu and attach the required materials below. When given the opportunity, upload one single PDF labeled “Last name, First name – Communications Intern” that includes the following:
- Your CV
- A Statement of Interest, including what you'd like to work on at EGC
- Your academic transcript (unofficial is acceptable)
- A short nonacademic writing sample
Who We Are
The Economic Growth Center (EGC) was founded in 1961 with support from the Ford Foundation as the first research center in a major US university focused on the quantitative study of lower-income economies. It soon became the host for Yale’s master’s program in International and Development Economics (IDE), which continues to train development researchers and policy practitioners.
Today, the Center is Yale’s hub for economics research and teaching on issues concerning lower-income economies and advancement of their populations. EGC researchers examine the links between economic growth, structural transformation, and individual outcomes, with a focus on how inequality and a changing climate affect individuals, especially those in marginalized groups. Others directly examine the political economy of development and ask how public policy can affect economic justice in lower-income settings. Many research projects are in collaboration with governments and other policy counterparts in developing countries, creating a direct channel through which research insights benefit the lives of millions of people. The Center supports the wider research community by enabling open access to large-scale surveys conducted by its researchers, and it hosts the Program in Economic History, which supports historical analysis of economic growth in developed as well as developing countries.