Internship in Macroeconomic Forecasting at ETH Zurich 1203 views

The KOF Swiss Economic Institute at the ETH Zurich is inviting applications for internship position in Macroeconomic Forecasting. This is the leading institute for applied research in economics in Switzerland. Applications are open to a dedicated individual to perform an internship (6 months) for the research project The Swiss savings glut – Origins, consequences and outlook in the Research Division Macroeconomic Forecasting, which will examine the following interrelated questions:

1. Which variables determine the formation of savings? Can we identify changes over time?
2. What is the influence of demographic change and the increase in inherited wealth?
3. What is the influence of changes in the taxation of income, savings and assets?
4. What was the influence of the introduction of the AHV and occupational pension scheme? What is the influence of expectations about the future of the Swiss retirement system?
5. Which factors are responsible for the Swiss current account surpluses? Has the relative importance of these factors changed over time?
6. What role does private households’ propensity to save in Switzerland play in this?
7. What role do institutional factors, the legal framework and taxation play?
8. Are there plausible scenarios for the development of the driving factors of the Swiss current account? In which partial balances of the current account should such changes be manifest themselves? Is it to be expected that Switzerland will continue to generate current account surpluses in the future? What would be the macroeconomic effects and the related structural change?
9. How have Swiss foreign investments performed in the past? What influence do the asset classes and currencies have? How significant are the effects of the exchange rate? Are there any examples of this from the history of other countries?
10. Can future scenarios be derived from the analysis of the international assets? What are the implications if the Swiss net capital export were to become a net capital import? Are there any examples of this from the economic history of other countries?

Requirements:

• Applicant must hold degree in economics or a related field.
• Knowledge in balance of payments accounting, understanding of the economic concepts behind it.
• Interest in applied economics and economic history
• Interest and experience in handling and analysing of cross sectional and time series data.
• Excellent English writing skills; knowledge of German is an advantage.
• Swiss or EU citizenship, Swiss work permit otherwise.

Applications:

Apply online including:

• Motivation letter,
• Curriculum vitae,
• Writing sample in German and English (e.g., Bachelor and Master thesis),
• Copies of certificates and contact information for 2-3 potential referees.