What it pays
Government survey numbers — not estimates, not ads.
Half of all Economists in the U.S. earn more than $124,720 a year — the middle 80% land between $67,360 and $238,060. About 17,790 people in the U.S. do this work. Figures are for the U.S. occupation group “Economists”. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, published 2025.) In India, Professionals earn about ₹38,298 a month on average — around ₹4.6 lakh a year (government PLFS survey via ILOSTAT, occupation-family figure).
$124,720typical pay / year
17,790people in this work
$238,060+top 10% earn
₹4.6 lakha year in India (family avg)
Think you get this job?Six quick questions on how it really works — with a hint and the reason behind every answer.
Test yourself →The work, task by task
These are the real jobs-to-be-done, not a wish list. Each task shows where we found it, and the prompt underneath is written for that exact task.
Analysing4
Forecast economic trends
+Produce a quarterly forecast for GDP growth and poverty headcount for the next two years using structural…
Forecast economic trends
+Produce a quarterly forecast for GDP growth and poverty headcount for the next two years using structural model outputs, include central and fan-chart scenarios and a short methods appendix for stakeholders by end of month.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft PowerPointESCOjob descriptionsWikipedia
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Evaluate policy impacts
+Conduct an impact evaluation of the recent cash transfer: specify identification strategy, run…
Evaluate policy impacts
+Conduct an impact evaluation of the recent cash transfer: specify identification strategy, run difference-in-differences and robustness checks on consumption and labor outcomes, and deliver a reproducible results appendix and one-page policy brief.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft Wordjob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia
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Analyze market activity and trends
+Produce a concise brief by Friday summarising urban retail and labour market activity last quarter, show…
Analyze market activity and trends
+Produce a concise brief by Friday summarising urban retail and labour market activity last quarter, show demand and price trends, include a chart of footfall versus sales and a two-paragraph interpretation for the director.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft PowerPointjob descriptionsWikipedia
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Analyse statistical data
+Clean and validate the national datasets, run descriptive stats and regressions testing income determinants,…
Analyse statistical data
+Clean and validate the national datasets, run descriptive stats and regressions testing income determinants, produce tables of coefficients with standard errors and a reproducible script and data dictionary by Wednesday.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft ExcelESCOjob descriptions
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Learning1
Teach theories, principles, and methods of economics.
+Teach a two-hour seminar next Tuesday for junior researchers on causal inference, welfare analysis, and…
Teach theories, principles, and methods of economics.
+Teach a two-hour seminar next Tuesday for junior researchers on causal inference, welfare analysis, and common econometric pitfalls, using slides, live examples from last year’s household survey, and a one-page takeaway with three applied exercises.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordESCOjob descriptionsO*NET
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Convincing1
Write about economic policy
+Draft a policy note for the deputy minister explaining the effects of recent tariff changes, include a short…
Write about economic policy
+Draft a policy note for the deputy minister explaining the effects of recent tariff changes, include a short literature-backed argument, three scenario estimates with elasticities, and recommended next steps by Monday noon.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordESCOWikipedia
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The daily work14
Study how societies allocate resources
+Estimate how households, firms and government split a fixed regional budget this quarter, test three…
Study how societies allocate resources
+Estimate how households, firms and government split a fixed regional budget this quarter, test three allocation models against the recent survey microdata, report preferred model with elasticities and a clear policy implication by next Tuesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsWikipedia
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Study international trade and global economics
+Analyse bilateral trade flows and tariff shocks over the last ten years, decompose changes into price and…
Study international trade and global economics
+Analyse bilateral trade flows and tariff shocks over the last ten years, decompose changes into price and quantity effects, produce a short memo linking results to current global supply chain risks for the donor meeting on Friday.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS Statisticsjob descriptionsWikipedia
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Study economic and statistical data in area of specialization, such as finance, labor, or agriculture.
+Compile and clean sectoral datasets for finance, labour and agriculture, run pre-registered regressions for…
Study economic and statistical data in area of specialization, such as finance, labor, or agriculture.
+Compile and clean sectoral datasets for finance, labour and agriculture, run pre-registered regressions for each sector, summarise coefficients and robustness checks in one appendix-ready table by Wednesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft ExcelO*NET
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Review documents written by others.
+Read the draft policy paper from Amara, mark statistical inconsistencies, note where assumptions lack…
Review documents written by others.
+Read the draft policy paper from Amara, mark statistical inconsistencies, note where assumptions lack citations, suggest three alternatives for the model specification, and return comments by Friday afternoon.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordO*NET
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Supervise research projects and students' study projects.
+Set up supervision for three student projects: confirm research questions, assign required datasets and…
Supervise research projects and students' study projects.
+Set up supervision for three student projects: confirm research questions, assign required datasets and methods, schedule fortnightly check-ins, and send a one-page guidance note and timelines to each student today.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft WordO*NET
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Provide litigation support, such as writing reports for expert testimony or testifying as an expert witness.
+Prepare the expert report for the upcoming hearing: state the causal framework, document data sources and…
Provide litigation support, such as writing reports for expert testimony or testifying as an expert witness.
+Prepare the expert report for the upcoming hearing: state the causal framework, document data sources and estimation strategy, present key findings with uncertainty bounds, and produce a sworn summary ready for filing by Monday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft ExcelO*NET
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Advise on product feasibility
+Assess whether the proposed low-cost water purifier can reach unit economics at $15 production cost, using…
Advise on product feasibility
+Assess whether the proposed low-cost water purifier can reach unit economics at $15 production cost, using the pilot demand data, local price elasticity estimates, and a three-year adoption curve—state key uncertainties and a go/no-go recommendation.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft WordESCO
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Advise on tax policies
+Analyse the distributional and revenue impacts of raising the urban service tax by two percentage points…
Advise on tax policies
+Analyse the distributional and revenue impacts of raising the urban service tax by two percentage points using household survey microdata, simulate incidence across income deciles, estimate revenue yield for year one, and recommend compensatory measures for the poorest deciles.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft ExcelESCO
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Forecast production and consumption of renewable resources and supply, consumption, and depletion of non-renewable resources.
+Produce a five‑year forecast of renewable resource production and consumption and of non‑renewable resource…
Forecast production and consumption of renewable resources and supply, consumption, and depletion of non-renewable resources.
+Produce a five‑year forecast of renewable resource production and consumption and of non‑renewable resource supply, consumption, and depletion for Kenya, using historical sectoral data to justify assumptions, include sensitivity runs for high and low demand, and deliver charts and a one‑page executive summary by next Tuesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Power BIO*NET
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Collect financial and socioeconomic data
+Assemble and clean financial and socioeconomic data for the Nairobi household survey and Ministry of Finance…
Collect financial and socioeconomic data
+Assemble and clean financial and socioeconomic data for the Nairobi household survey and Ministry of Finance transfers from 2010–2024, reconcile missing values, document sources and cleaning steps, and produce a merged dataset ready for regression by end of day Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Accessjob descriptions
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Communicate findings via reports and presentations
+Draft a 10‑page report and 12‑slide presentation that summarises methods, key regression results, policy…
Communicate findings via reports and presentations
+Draft a 10‑page report and 12‑slide presentation that summarises methods, key regression results, policy implications, and three recommended actions for the Ministry of Agriculture, include clear tables of coefficients and a two‑slide appendix on robustness checks, due for stakeholder meeting on Thursday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft PowerPointjob descriptions
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Participate in think tanks and publish research
+Prepare a think‑tank paper for the Development Research Forum arguing how concessional finance alters…
Participate in think tanks and publish research
+Prepare a think‑tank paper for the Development Research Forum arguing how concessional finance alters depletion rates, include literature review, model derivation, empirical tests using the merged dataset, and draft for submission to the December policy roundtable in four weeks.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordIBM SPSS Statisticsjob descriptions
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Conduct financial statement analysis
+Perform a financial statement analysis of the state energy utility for 2018–2023: compute liquidity,…
Conduct financial statement analysis
+Perform a financial statement analysis of the state energy utility for 2018–2023: compute liquidity, solvency, and profitability ratios, reconcile accounting anomalies with disclosed notes, and write a one‑page risk memo for the finance director by Monday morning.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelWikipedia
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Study trends
+Analyse sectoral trends in agricultural yields, real commodity prices, and labour productivity over the past…
Study trends
+Analyse sectoral trends in agricultural yields, real commodity prices, and labour productivity over the past 15 years, identify three statistically significant shifts, plot trend lines and breakpoints, and prepare a two‑page brief for the research director by Friday afternoon.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft ExcelESCO
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Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses