International Center for the Study of Institutions and Development (ICSID)

Postdoctoral research positions. Deadline: April 1, 2016

The Higher School of Economics’ International Center for the Study of Institutions and Development (ICSID) in Moscow, Russia  invites applications for a postdoctoral research position in the field of social network analysis.

How do the social ties between federal and regional officials, as well as within regional administrations, shape economic development? The quality of government bureaucracies has long been thought to shape the incentives of government officials and the types of policies that they adopt, ultimately shaping the trajectory of economic development. While existing studies have made progress using coarse measures of education and other personal characteristics, little is known about the relationship between the density of social network ties within governments (and between different levels of government), the quality of the bureaucracy, and outcomes of interest. On the one hand, dense network ties might facilitate cross-level (within federal governments) or cross-departmental (with regional ones) coordination, making it easier for politicians to acquire resources and coordinate policy. This could be expected to have positive effects on development. On the other hand, dense network ties might also be signs of patronage politics at play, in which bureaucrats use networks to secure favors and rents for their partners. Using a unique dataset of Russian federal and regional elites, ICSID has begun to study this problem in a series of works about the quality of the Russian bureaucracy. Candidates will assist in the expansion of the center’s database of elites to include economic elites (business owners and directors) and in the analysis of how network characteristics effect economic development, more broadly, as well specific policy outcomes (investment, public goods provision, etc.). While the project is focused on Russia, candidates whose research involves a comparative dimension or who focus on other contexts (particularly China) are also encouraged to apply.

The Institute offers access to its databases (please see website), analytical software, and technical support. The center will also offer the Post-doc research assistants for data collection and maintenance tasks related to the center’s project areas.