Development Policy Specialist

Development Policy Specialist manages the work items collected here and this page includes 20 real tasks you can replicate. Expect clear checklists and small pointers about using Microsoft Excel. Each one shows where we found it, and comes with an AI prompt you can copy and use straight away.

20evidenced tasks
20ready prompts
8tools of the trade
19-3011.00O*NET-SOC code
17,790hold this job (US, BLS 2025)
$124,720median pay/yr (US)
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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)
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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

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Produce a twelve-month forecast of GDP growth, inflation, unemployment and exchange rates for Kenya using…
Produce a twelve-month forecast of GDP growth, inflation, unemployment and exchange rates for Kenya using last five years of national accounts and monthly price indices, show scenario ranges with assumptions and deliver a one-page executive summary by next Wednesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Power BIESCOjob descriptionsWikipedia

Analyze market activity and trends

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Analyse six months of trade, price and transaction data to identify demand shifts and market concentration…
Analyse six months of trade, price and transaction data to identify demand shifts and market concentration trends in the maize market, produce charts, a short note on drivers, and three policy flags for the commodity team by Thursday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Power BIMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsWikipedia

Analyse statistical data

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Clean and run regressions on the national labour survey, test hypotheses on wage determinants, produce tables…
Clean and run regressions on the national labour survey, test hypotheses on wage determinants, produce tables of coefficients, p-values and marginal effects, and write a two-page methods appendix for publication submission next month.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft WordESCOjob descriptions

Write about economic policy

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Draft a policy brief arguing for progressive tax reform: summarise evidence, estimate revenue and…
Draft a policy brief arguing for progressive tax reform: summarise evidence, estimate revenue and distributional effects using latest tax‑benefit microsimulation, include three clear recommendations and a one‑page non-technical summary for the minister by Tuesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft ExcelESCOWikipedia
Convincing1

Evaluate policy impacts

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Estimate the poverty and employment impacts of the proposed transport subsidy by modelling household…
Estimate the poverty and employment impacts of the proposed transport subsidy by modelling household consumption responses, present baseline and counterfactual outcomes, include confidence intervals and policy recommendations for the ministry briefing due Monday.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia
Learning1

Teach theories, principles, and methods of economics.

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Prepare a two-hour seminar that teaches fiscal multipliers, cost‑benefit methods and identification…
Prepare a two-hour seminar that teaches fiscal multipliers, cost‑benefit methods and identification strategies with worked examples, three classroom exercises and a one-page reading list for senior analysts on Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordESCOjob descriptionsO*NET
The daily work14

Study how societies allocate resources

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Analyse public budget and household survey data to show how health, education and infrastructure spending are…
Analyse public budget and household survey data to show how health, education and infrastructure spending are distributed across income groups and regions, test for regressivity or progressivity, and draft a two‑page policy brief with conclusions and recommendations by next Wednesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelIBM SPSS Statisticsjob descriptionsWikipedia

Study international trade and global economics

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Compile bilateral trade and tariff datasets, calculate revealed comparative advantage and trade openness…
Compile bilateral trade and tariff datasets, calculate revealed comparative advantage and trade openness indicators, run gravity model regressions to quantify impacts on GDP and employment, and produce a slide deck of results and policy implications for the ministerial meeting Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft PowerPointjob descriptionsWikipedia

Study economic and statistical data in area of specialization, such as finance, labor, or agriculture.

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Merge national accounts, labour force and agricultural production series, generate quarterly indicators for…
Merge national accounts, labour force and agricultural production series, generate quarterly indicators for productivity, employment and real wages in the agriculture sector, test structural breaks since policy X, and write a technical annex with tables and charts for the upcoming sector report.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft SQL ServerO*NET

Review documents written by others.

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Read the draft policy note from Ana, annotate methodological issues, flag unsupported claims and data gaps,…
Read the draft policy note from Ana, annotate methodological issues, flag unsupported claims and data gaps, suggest three alternative empirical checks and return a tracked‑change version and a one‑page summary with recommended edits by Tuesday noon.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordO*NET

Supervise research projects and students' study projects.

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Set research milestones and data deliverables for the student teams on the labour market project, review…
Set research milestones and data deliverables for the student teams on the labour market project, review their draft protocols, assign supervisors, and send a single consolidated feedback email with deadlines and next steps by Monday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OutlookO*NET

Provide litigation support, such as writing reports for expert testimony or testifying as an expert witness.

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Prepare an expert report summarising the economic model, data sources and counterfactual estimates, produce…
Prepare an expert report summarising the economic model, data sources and counterfactual estimates, produce court‑ready exhibits and a concise witness statement in plain language, and deliver the package to the litigation counsel two days before the hearing.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft ExcelO*NET

Advise on product feasibility

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Assess whether the pilot insect-repellent crop coating is commercially viable: estimate per-hectare…
Assess whether the pilot insect-repellent crop coating is commercially viable: estimate per-hectare production and application costs, model demand under three price scenarios, run break-even and sensitivity analyses, and summarise risks for the program director by Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft WordESCO

Advise on tax policies

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Advise on proposed increases to urban sales taxes: quantify distributional impacts across income quintiles,…
Advise on proposed increases to urban sales taxes: quantify distributional impacts across income quintiles, estimate revenue under three compliance assumptions, model short-run consumption responses, and prepare a one-page policy brief with recommended rate and mitigation measures for the finance minister next Tuesday.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft ExcelESCO

Forecast production and consumption of renewable resources and supply, consumption, and depletion of non-renewable resources.

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Forecast yearly production and consumption of renewable resources and project supply, consumption, and…
Forecast yearly production and consumption of renewable resources and project supply, consumption, and depletion paths for coal, oil, and gas to 2040 using historical output, extraction rates, and policy scenarios; flag model assumptions and three sensitivity runs.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Power BIO*NET

Collect financial and socioeconomic data

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Gather national and regional financial and socioeconomic data for 2015–2024: tax revenues, household income,…
Gather national and regional financial and socioeconomic data for 2015–2024: tax revenues, household income, employment, consumption, and public transfers; validate sources, reconcile discrepancies, and produce a cleaned dataset ready for analysis.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions

Communicate findings via reports and presentations

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Draft a technical report and a 12‑slide briefing that summarise methods, results, and policy implications…
Draft a technical report and a 12‑slide briefing that summarise methods, results, and policy implications from the last quarter's analysis, include key charts, an executive summary, and three recommended actions for the ministerial brief.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft PowerPointjob descriptions

Participate in think tanks and publish research

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Prepare and submit a research paper draft and a one‑page policy note for the upcoming think tank roundtable,…
Prepare and submit a research paper draft and a one‑page policy note for the upcoming think tank roundtable, include literature review, methods, results, and suggested reforms; attach datasets and replication code for peer review.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions

Conduct financial statement analysis

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Analyze the latest audited financial statements for three state enterprises: compute profitability,…
Analyze the latest audited financial statements for three state enterprises: compute profitability, liquidity, solvency ratios, and trend variances over five years; highlight anomalies and prepare a one‑page summary with risk recommendations for the finance director.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelWikipedia

Study trends

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Examine trends in GDP, sectoral growth, inflation, and employment over the past decade, decompose drivers,…
Examine trends in GDP, sectoral growth, inflation, and employment over the past decade, decompose drivers, test statistical significance, and produce a short memo with forecast implications and policy levers to discuss at Friday's senior team meeting.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft ExcelESCO

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