USA Staffing

Position Title: Research Economist
Agency: Treasury, Departmental Offices
Announcement Number: 23-DO-34-DH Opens in new window
Open Period: Monday, October 31, 2022 to Sunday, April 30, 2023

For preview purposes only. To apply, please return to the USAJOBS announcement and click the Apply button.

1. Do you claim Veterans’ Preference?

A. No, I do not claim Veterans' Preference

B. 0-point Sole Survivorship Preference (SSP)

C. 5-point preference based on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces (TP)

D. 10-point preference for non-compensable disability or Purple Heart (XP)

E. 10-point preference based on a compensable service connected disability of at least 10% but less than 30% (CP)

F. 10 point preference based on widow/widower or parent of a deceased veteran, or spouse or parent of a disabled veteran (XP)

G. 10-point preference based on a compensable service connected disability of 30% or more (CPS)

2. Are you a surplus or displaced Federal employee eligible under the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)? Click CTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents you must submit in order to be eligible.

A. Yes

B. No

3. Are you a displaced Federal employee eligible under the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)? Click ICTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents you must submit in order to be eligible.

A. Yes

B. No

1. Select the series you want to be considered for. You must choose at least one series.

A. 0110 - Economist

B. 1520 - Mathematics

C. 1530 - Statistics

2. Are you currently serving or have served in the last five years in a Political Appointment in the Federal Government?

A. Yes

B. No

3. Where did you learn about this Department of the Treasury job opportunity?

A. FedExperience website

B. USAJOBS website

C. Community Organization

D. Employment Office (Federal/State or Local)

E. Friend/Relative

F. Job Fair, Conference, or Convention

G. Magazine

H. Newspaper

I. School, College, Counselor

J. Vacancy Announcement Posting

K. Professional Organization

L. Radio/TV

M. Other

4. If you were born a male after December 31, 1959, and are at least 18 years of age, have you registered with the Selective Service System (select "Not applicable" if this question does not apply to you)?

A. Yes

B. No

C. No, but I have an approved exemption

D. Not applicable

Basic Requirements for Economist, 0110

A. Degree: Economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus. OR
B. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

OR
Basic Requirements for Mathematician, 1520

A. Degree: mathematics; or the equivalent of a major that included at least 24 semester hours in mathematics.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major in mathematics (including at least 24 semester hours in mathematics), as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

The total course work in either A or B above must have included differential and integral calculus and, in addition, four advanced mathematics courses requiring calculus or equivalent mathematics courses as a prerequisite.

OR
Basic Requirements of Statistician, 1530

A. Degree: that included 15 semester hours in statistics (or in mathematics and statistics, provided at least 6 semester hours were in statistics), and 9 additional semester hours in one or more of the following: physical or biological sciences, medicine, education, or engineering; or in the social sciences including demography, history, economics, social welfare, geography, international relations, social or cultural anthropology, health sociology, political science, public administration, psychology, etc. Credit toward meeting statistical course requirements should be given for courses in which 50 percent of the course content appears to be statistical methods, e.g., courses that included studies in research methods in psychology or economics such as tests and measurements or business cycles, or courses in methods of processing mass statistical data such as tabulating methods or electronic data processing.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience -- courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The experience should have included a full range of professional statistical work such as (a) sampling, (b) collecting, computing, and analyzing statistical data, and (c) applying statistical techniques such as measurement of central tendency, dispersion, skewness, sampling error, simple and multiple correlation, analysis of variance, and tests of significance.

1. You must meet the minimum basic educational/experience requirements for professional economist, mathematician, or statistician positions in the Federal government. Choose the answer which best describes your basic qualifications.

A. I meet the basic requirements for an Economist, 0110.

B. I meet the basic requirements for a Mathematician, 1520.

C. I meet the basic requirements for a Statistician, 1530.

D. None of the above.

Specialized experience for the Band 53, (GS 13): An applicant must have one year of specialized experience at or, equivalent to at least the Band 52 (GS-12) in the Federal service.
Specialized experience for this position includes:

-Planning, conducting, and completing economic or financial research papers, not required or submitted for course requirements, using economic data or developing economic models on topics related to financial markets, financial institutions, or financial stability.

Examples of such experience might include:
-Serving as a research assistant at a college or university for work led by a faculty member or professor on topics regarding financial markets, financial institutions, or financial stability, or independently planning, conducting, and executing research on such topics; OR
-Serving as a teaching assistant for a college or graduate-level course in economics, finance, or mathematics led by a faculty member or professor, or independently planning and teaching a college or graduate-level course in those fields; OR
-Applying quantitative analytical and research techniques to examine questions concerning financial markets, financial institutions, or financial stability, and writing or co-authoring papers based on that research and intended for publication in a relevant academic, peer-reviewed journal.

Examples that do not meet the specialized experience include:
-Experience related to budgeting, financial analysis, accounting, cost-benefit analysis, cost effectiveness, procurement, data management, data operations, IT management of data, operations research, marketing research, equity or fixed income analysis; OR
-Teaching experience below the college or university level and/or outside the fields of economics, finance, or mathematics.

Research experience on topics related to financial stability is preferred but not required.

Select “Yes” or “No” to the following question(s).

2. Do you meet the specialized experience as listed above?

A. Yes

B. No

3. Select the one response of the options given that best represents your highest level of experience conducting research on the functioning of financial markets and institutions and including broad systemic risk measurement?

A. Researcher producing papers related to the functioning of financial markets or financial institutions or financial stability and intended for publication in a relevant academic, peer-reviewed journal

B. Teaching Assistant for economics, finance, or math course at a college or university

C. Research Assistant for economics or finance research paper at a college or university

D. Research Assistant for economics or finance research for an institution outside of a college or university

E. Researcher producing papers not related to the functioning of financial markets or financial institutions or financial stability

F. None of the above

4. Select the ONE statement that best describes the types of research experience you have.

A. Conducted research on a financial or economic topic and presented it to an expert audience

B. Conducted research on a financial or economic topic but never presented it in a seminar or speech to an expert audience

C. None of the above

5. From the following list of research skills, identify all those that you have routinely and successfully applied in an academic or professional setting. (Select all that apply)

A. Extracting and compiling numerical or statistical data

B. Verifying facts and figures

C. Validating findings

D. Assessing model validity

E. Selecting analytical methodology

F. Performing robustness checks

G. None of the above

6. Select the ONE response that represents your highest level of experience in researching financial topics.

A. I have been an author on a research paper that examined financial stability or systemic risks.

B. I have been an author on a research paper that examined topics related to financial markets or financial institutions, but not directly related to financial stability or systemic risks.

C. I have conducted small studies or assignments or continuing projects and was involved in the planning and execution of the studies.

D. None of the above.

7. Select the choice(s) that describe your experience in developing reports on financial markets, financial institutions, financial stability, and/or financial risk management. (Select all that apply)

A. Presenting seminars or briefings

B. Developing policy papers

C. Developing teaching/instructional aids

D. Writing investigative reports

E. Writing research papers intended for publication in a peer-reviewed journal

F. Writing post-undergraduate research papers not required or submitted for a course

G. Writing undergraduate research papers not required or submitted for a course

H. None of the above

8. I have used the following economic, financial, statistical, or mathematical techniques. (Select all that apply)

A. Non-parametric tests

B. Multivariate, linear or logistic regressions

C. Time series analysis

D. Scenario simulation models

E. Dynamic programing

F. Hypothesis testing

G. Game theory or network analysis

H. None of the above

9. Select the ONE software package you have used most outside a classroom setting to conduct research on financial markets, financial institutions or risks to financial stability.

A. SAS

B. R

C. MATLAB

D. MATHEMATICA

E. GAUSS

F. STATA

G. PYTHON

H. eViews

I. Microsoft Excel

J. None of the above

10. Select the ONE statement that demonstrates your highest level of experience conducting research relevant for financial system policy or regulation.

A. I have independently written or co-written a research paper that has implications for financial system policy or regulations.

B. I have prepared reports on existing policies, guidance or procedures for higher level approval. I consulted with my supervisor or higher level employees if I had any questions.

C. I was a named contributor (for example as a research assistant or commenter) to a research paper published in a peer- reviewed journal pertaining to economics, finance, mathematics, or statistics.

D. I followed established policies, guidance, or procedures available in operations manuals and relied on higher level staff if I had questions. I interpreted written policies, guidance, or procedures for employees and managers with minimal direction.

E. I've conducted research pertaining to economics, finance, mathematics or statistics.

F. I do not have this type of experience.

11. What financial or economic topics do you have experience with? (Select all that apply)

A. Financial markets or institutions

B. Macroeconomics

C. Microeconomics

D. Econometrics

E. Game Theory

F. None of the above

12. Which of the following have you done as a routine part of your academic or work experience? (Select all that apply)

A. Established priorities among multiple projects

B. Established timelines for multiple projects

C. Established and monitored project progress

D. Met deadlines

E. Anticipated and resolved problems

F. None of the above

13. Select ONE response that best describes your experience communicating effectively.

A. I have experience providing advice and guidance on projects or programs including to management; university and conference program committees or through ad hoc referee reports.

B. I have experience presenting information to technically knowledgeable groups, such as expert groups, research peers, policy groups, where there is a significant exchange of new information.

C. I have experience explaining ideas or discussing information in small group settings such as brown bag lunches and staff meetings.

D. None of the above.

14. Select ONE response that best describes your experience communicating your thoughts, ideas, and information in writing.

A. I have independently written reports or research papers describing empirical results or theoretical models.

B. I have independently drafted documents that require specialized knowledge of topic areas and methodology for external expert groups.

C. I have drafted routine documents often geared towards a general audience.

D. None of the above.

15. I have communicated, in writing, complex finance or economic topics in: (Select all that apply)

A. Research papers published in peer-reviewed journals

B. Research papers intended for publication in peer-reviewed journals

C. Presentations and reports for seminars or conferences

D. Internal memos or research proposal documents

E. None of the above

16. I have provided oral presentations to: (Select all that apply)

A. Internal expert audiences, e.g. internal seminars, workshops, or brown-bag presentations

B. External expert audiences, e.g. external seminars, public conferences, or workshops

C. Peers

D. None of the above

Your session will expire due to inactivity in 60 seconds.

Unsaved data may be lost if you allow this session to expire.

Warning! The announcement has now closed.

Failure to continue will prevent you from completing and submitting the application.

Click the Stay Connected button below to continue your session.

Terms & Conditions

Your Session is About to Expire!