Research Fellow (3 Year Contract)
About Us
Singapore Management University (SMU) is a place where high-level professionalism blends with a healthy informality. In the UT Dallas research rankings based on publications in the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics and Review of Financial Studies, SMU is ranked 38th worldwide, 2nd in Asia and 1st in Singapore for the 2023-2026 period, and 42nd worldwide, 2nd in Asia and 1st in Singapore for the 2020-2026 period. SMU subscribes to all major financial databases and provides generous research funds to support conference travel and other research activities.
The Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics (SKBI) aims to promote high-quality academic research as well as a close collaboration with the finance industry. Our commitment to attracting and retaining talent is ongoing. We offer strong benefits and welfare, competitive compensation packages, and generous professional development opportunities, all designed to meet the work-life needs of our staff. SMU continues to receive numerous awards and recognition for its human resource excellence.
English is the primary language used for education, commerce, and daily life in Singapore. For more information about SMU and SKBI, please visit https://www.smu.edu.sg/ and https://skbi.smu.edu.sg/. For general information about Singapore, please visit https://www.edb.gov.sg/en/why-singapore/a-great-place-to-live.html.
Job Description
- This position is for Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics (SKBI).
- Support the data work, empirical analysis, and literature synthesis of research projects on digital transformation in financial intermediation and corporate innovation. The role is programming-intensive and centres onlarge-scale and unstructured data and on advanced empirical models.
- Collect, clean, and structure large-scale data, including unstructured data such as text, web pages, patents, and app-usage records, from administrative, commercial, and online sources.
- Write efficient, well-documented, and reproducible code in Python, R, or Stata.
- Design and implement advanced empirical models, including causal inference methods (e.g., difference-indifferences, instrumental variables, field experiments.
- Conduct targeted literature reviews.
- Prepare project materials (e.g., presentations, progress reports, research outputs, grant documentation).
- Organize events (such as conferences).
- Any other tasks assigned by the Principal Investigators of the project.
Qualifications
- PhD or master's degree in finance, economics, computer science, statistics, or a related quantitative field.
- Strong programming skills in Python, R, or Stata, with hands-on experience processing large databases.
- Demonstrated experience working with unstructured data, such as text, web, audio, or image data.
- Solid training in empirical methods, especially causal inference; experience with machine learning and structuralestimation is a plus.
- Strong knowledge of and research background in finance or economics.
- Excellent research skills; experience in banking, fintech, or innovation research is preferred.
- Strong written and oral communication skills, including presentations.
Other Information
The anticipated start date for this position is 4 January 2027 or later.
Applicants who meet all the criteria should submit an application with the following materials:
Cover Letter
CV
Recent publications or working papers
Two letters of reference