Assistant Professor of Economics

Application Window

The Department of Public Policy in the UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin School of Public Affairs (https://luskin.ucla.edu/) seeks to recruit one applicant for the position of Associate Professor of Public Policy. We seek scholars within economics in the fields of applied microeconomics, labor, education, public, development, health or environmental economics. In these fields, we are interested in building on our strengths in studying inequality issues. Within applied microeconomics, we are also interested in a scholar whose work may focus on international contexts, potentially with an emphasis on Latin America. Applicants’ research should have important public policy implications, and applicants should be prepared to teach core and elective courses in microeconomics, econometrics, and other topics. A Ph.D. in Economics is required by the time of appointment. The University of California seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as a reflection of our commitment to serve the people of California, to maintain the excellence of the University, and to offer our students richly varied disciplines, perspectives and ways of knowing and learning.

We are a multi-disciplinary department that values scholarly excellence and collegiality, within the UCLA School of Public Affairs that is home to myriad research centers. The Department and School are particularly strong in data analytics and policy analysis; environment; race and inequality; housing and transportation; social policy; urban issues; health; and youth. We offer a Master of Public Policy degree, an undergraduate Public Affairs Major, and contribute to the training of doctoral students from varied departments across campus. The Department currently includes fifteen FTE ladder faculty, as well as several senior faculty with joint appointments from other campus schools and departments, and a number of lecturers. UCLA is among the leading global universities and is the top-ranked public university in the nation.

These positions are opened until filled, but early applications are encouraged. Applications will be accepted starting on October 15, 2024 and the selection committee will begin to review completed applications starting on November 20, 2024. Interested candidates should apply through UC Recruit: https://recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF09901. Please submit a cover letter that provides a statement on research and a statement on teaching describes your interest in and ability to teach courses in public policy and economics courses; a curriculum vitae; a research paper; a statement of equity, diversity, and inclusion; and the names and affiliations of three references. For questions related to the position, please contact Search Chair Randall Akee (rakee@ucla.edu) or Department Manager Stacey Hirose (stacey@luskin.ucla.edu).

The University of California is committed to creating and maintaining a community dedicated to the advancement, application, and transmission of knowledge and creative endeavors through academic excellence, where all individuals who participate in University programs and activities can work and learn together in a safe and secure environment, free of violence, harassment, bullying and other demeaning behavior, discrimination, exploitation, or intimidation. With this commitment as well as a commitment to addressing all forms of academic misconduct, UCLA conducts targeted employment reference checks for finalists to whom departments or other hiring units would like to extend formal offers of appointment into Academic Senate faculty positions. The targeted employment reference checks involve contacting the finalists’ current and prior places of employment to ask whether there have been substantiated findings of misconduct that would violate the University’s Faculty Code of Conduct. To implement this process, UCLA requires all applicants for Academic Senate faculty positions to complete, sign, and upload the form entitled “Authorization to Release Information” into RECRUIT as part of their application. If the applicant does not include the signed authorization to release information with the application materials, the application will be considered incomplete. As with any incomplete application, the application will not receive further consideration. Although all applicants for faculty recruitments must complete the entire application, only finalists (i.e., those to whom the department or other hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer) considered for Academic Senate faculty positions will be subject to targeted employment reference checks.

A Ph.D. in economics is required by the time of appointment.

The candidate has formal training/specialization and demonstrated expertise in the discipline of economics.

The candidate has a research agenda and emerging record that shows significant promise of producing high quality, innovative scholarship and publications that are conceptually and analytically rigorous, policy-relevant, and contribute to expanding the knowledge base in the candidate's field.

The candidate has an interest and expertise in one or more substantive policy domains that either reinforces existing areas of strength among the Department’s faculty (e.g., health policy; education policy; environmental, sustainability, and energy policy; poverty and inequality; science and technology) or invigorates or introduces coverage of topical areas currently less well represented by the existing faculty (e.g., immigration and migration, crime and drugs, nonprofits and civil society); and that is important for addressing the challenges and needs of an increasingly diverse and interconnected nation and world.

The candidate demonstrates the capacity to communicate effectively, and inclusively, with a range of diverse audiences and in multiple settings, from large lecture courses to more specialized seminars, from training students from myriad backgrounds and ambitions pursuing a professional degree to educating undergraduates from diverse backgrounds, and inclusive of more public forums for policy makers, activists, and the attentive public.

The candidate will likely fit in with a multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary faculty, and on a highly interconnected campus.

The candidate will effectively participate in administrative and/or service and volunteer roles—on campus or in the community—that show attributes such as institutional commitment, understanding diverse communities, and support of public goods.

• 3 required (contact information only)

The names and affiliations of three references

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status.

For the University of California’s Affirmative Action Policy, please visit https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/apm/apm-035.pdf.

For the University of California’s Anti-Discrimination Policy, please visit https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination.