The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (NERCRD) is a small research and outreach unit located in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education within Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.   Our mission is to work on a range of issues with land grant universities and other partners in the Northeast as well as nationally in support of rural development.

The NERCRD seeks applications for a one-year post-doc position, with good chances of renewal subject to funding.  The post-doc will be responsible for conducting economic and statistical analyses on a wide range of rural development topics, as determined by the Center’s emerging needs and priorities.  There is a strong expectation that this research will contribute both to the science base as well as to informing U.S. rural economic development policy.   A part of the research portfolio will include assessing the impacts of different federal policies over time and space. Importantly, the opportunity exists to work with Penn State’s Census Data Center.  Examples of topics to be studied range from policy impact assessments (including the impact of farm subsidies and extension education); determinants of poverty including the roles of automation and global competition; and the interdependence of rural and urban areas, as well as agricultural and non-agricultural industries; to the determinants of health and well-being, including addiction and drug overdoses.

Qualifications: The candidate will have extensive training in state-of-the-art economics or a related field and econometric analysis, including spatial statistics, as well as excellent communications and writing skills.  In addition, he or she will have extensive experience with a variety of statistical packages.  The candidate needs to be able to both work well independently and also to function effectively in a team setting.

To apply send a statement of interest in the position, two writing samples, and names of and contact information for three references to Stephan Goetz at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .