Trainees (f/m/div) for Macro Summer Internship

With this call for applications for our MACRO SUMMER INTERNSHIP, we intend to assemble a student group for a joint six-week internship that offers insights into macroeconomic research and methods.

Date: 19 August 2024 – 27 September 2024

Number of Participants: up to 4 (one per project)

Project 1: Socially-responsible Demand and Income Inequality

Supervisor: Dr. Sonja Dobkowitz, Mail: sdobkowitz@diw.de

This project seeks to answer the following question: How does demand along the income distribution react to a shift in households’ environmental and social concerns?

Your tasks will entail collecting data (on consumption, income, shocks to household preferences) and using suited empirical methods to infer household behaviour. You will learn how to collect and prepare data for and to conduct empirical analyses.

Project 2: Forecast

Supervisor: Dr. Geraldine Dany-Knedlik, Mail: GDanyKnedlik@diw.de

The savings rate of private households in Germany has recently risen to over 12%. This is well above the long-term average. Private consumption has been falling in relation to gross domestic product since around 2010, after this ratio had previously been stable for decades. The focus of the project is to examine which factors can explain the cyclical (short-term) development of consumption and saving in Germany. Of particular interest is which role the income distribution and indicators of income inequality play in determining saving and consumption of private households. 

Your tasks will entail collecting data, review academic literature and drafting policy reports. You will learn how to work with microdata from household panel and respective empirical measures, how to apply standard forecasting methods and how to draft and interpret empirical results.

Project 3: RETT: A data Set on the Rates of Real Estate Transfer Taxes

Supervisor: Dr. habil. Konstantin Kholodilin, Mail: kkholodilin@diw.de

In this project, longitudinal data on the rates of RETT are collected. The data set should start in 1900 and go through 2023 and should also cover a large as a possible set of countries and at least include the OECD member states. In the case of progressive tax schedules, both minimum and maximum rates should be included into the data set. Similarly, if different rates are applied to the residents and non-residents, this info should be accounted for. Finally, the region-specific rates must be included, if this is the case.

Your tasks will entail collecting the longitudinal data. You will learn how to apply panel-data models.

Project 4: A data set on the housing allowances

Supervisor: Dr. habil. Konstantin Kholodilin, Mail: kkholodilin@diw.de

The aim of this project is to collect longitudinal data on housing allowances. Ideally, the data set should start in 1900 and go through 2023. It should also cover a large as a possible set of countries and at least include the OECD member states. Your tasks will entail collecting the longitudinal data. You will learn how to apply panel-data models.

Who can apply?

Eligible are enrolled students in Economics at a European University (Bachelor or Master level) with a focus on macroeconomics or international finance and an interest in state-of the-art research methods.

What do we offer

• participate in ongoing research and knowledge transfer projects (see detailed project descriptions above).
• training in data research, literature review and drafting policy reports
• hands-on experience in data management of large-scale datasets
• one assigned supervisor per student
• networking possibilities amongst the internship cohort and within the Macroeconomics research department at DIW Berlin
• possibility to figure out your own future research focus
• flatrate reimbursement (100 Euro/week = 600 Euro in total)

How to apply?

Please select one or two projects you would like to participate in and submit your application (cover letter + CV) online by 28.07.2024, quoting reference number P-01-24-MAK, using the application form on our careers page.

Please note that you must be enrolled as a student to be considered for this position. If you are in between programs or if you plan to complete your degree during the internship, we cannot take your application into consideration. Please note that we can only consider applications received via our online tool. The internship takes place full-time at DIW Berlin, it is not possible to complete the internship via remote work.

We highly appreciate diversity and are thus pleased to receive any application – irrespective of gender, nationality, disability, or ethnic and social background.

Further information about DIW Berlin can be found on our homepage at www.diw.de. For information on the field of work, please contact the respective project supervisors (see above).

DIW Berlin

Founded in 1925, DIW Berlin (the German Institute for Economic Research) is one of the leading economic research institutes in Germany. The Institute analyzes the economic and social aspects of topical issues, formulating and disseminating policy advice based on its research findings. DIW Berlin is part of both the national and international scientific communities, provides research infrastructure to academics all over the world, and promotes the next generation of scientists. A member of the Leibniz Association, DIW Berlin is independent and primarily publicly funded.