Research Economist

Government Recruitment Service; Tees Valley; On-site; GBP 59,000 - 71,000; Full time

Job summary

Government Recruitment Service is recruiting for Research Economists to deliver frontier economic research for the AI Economics Institute. You will lead methodologically demanding empirical studies and develop robust modelling tools under senior guidance.

Roles are permanent, with potential secondments and a UK-wide impact on policy through data-driven insights. These are early-career specialist roles that offer growth into research leadership and close collaboration with Heads of Research

Qualifications

• Deep, specialist technical skills and a track record of high-quality research.
• Typically including a PhD and/or strong empirical research output.
• Ability to work across pillars and manage complex analyses.

Responsibilities

• Lead the most technical primary research projects, including methodologically demanding, causal empirical studies.
• Develop novel, robust economic modelling tools.
• Deliver high-quality research to inform UK policy decisions.

Education

PhD or equivalent

Job description

Deliver primary research within one of the AIEI's two pillars - either developing data and delivering empirical studies, or building and running economic models and scenarios - under the direction of Heads of Research Economics. These are early-career specialist roles for researchers with strong technical skills and the potential to grow into a research leadership role in future.

We are recruiting for up to 8 roles under this advert, split between the Data & Empirical Research pillar, and the Modelling & Scenarios pillar. Please make clear which pillar you are most interested in.

Roles are advertised as permanent positions, but we are open to these being arranged as secondments.

The AI Economics Institute (AIEI) is a joint research organisation of HM Treasury and the Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet (OPMC). The AIEI has been established to build and maintain the analytical capability needed to put the UK government at the forefront of understanding AI’s economic impacts. Announced by the Chancellor in the March 2026 Mais Lecture and launched in June 2026, it is the first government‑backed institute of its kind in the world.

AI has the potential to substantially reshape the structure of firms, sectors, and labour markets. The opportunities are extraordinary. AI could drive productivity gains and unlock new sources of growth. At the same time, the transition also carries risks depending on the pace of technological development and how the economy adapts. The AIEI exists to build the data infrastructure, research capability and external relationships needed to assess these impacts rigorously and at pace, and to ensure the resulting evidence informs policy makers. The Institute will assess both opportunities and risks under a range of scenarios, examining how AI affects productivity, labour markets, firms, growth and the income distribution, with particular attention to how the gains are shared across regions, income groups, sectors and generations.

The AIEI is not a policy‑setting body. UK government departments remain responsible for policy decisions in response to AI. The Institute’s role is to improve the quality and timeliness of the evidence and analysis on which those decisions rest. It focuses on priorities where it has a comparative advantage as a research institute at the heart of government, avoiding duplication of work that can happen equally well elsewhere, and engaging widely with academia, business and civil society to inform its work and contribute to public understanding.

The AIEI is modelled on the AI Security Institute, particularly in its research focus, its approach to bringing in external talent, and its access to advanced tools. It is a small, high‑calibre organisation, planning to grow to around 35 FTE by the end of its first year. It will bring together talented civil servants with Research Economists who have hands‑on experience of delivering frontier economic research. It is chaired by Nobel Prize winning economist and former Chief Economist of the IMF, Simon Johnson. A world‑first ambition is to link private sector data, including AI usage data, to government administrative data, providing a unique and rich data ecosystem for empirical research. The Institute’s ambitions for developing world‑leading macroeconomic modelling capability are similarly high.

The two research pillars

The AIEI’s research function is organised around two complementary pillars set out in the published prospectus. All four role types in this campaign are being recruited into one of these two pillars, depending on the specialism of the candidate:

• Data & Empirical Research - developing the data infrastructure, measurement frameworks and empirical research needed to establish an evidence‑based picture of AI’s economic effects as they develop, including causal analysis of AI’s impacts on productivity, labour markets, firms and workers.
• Modelling & Scenarios - connecting potential pathways for AI’s development and adoption to economy‑wide outcomes, building cutting edge economic models and plausible but stretching scenarios, testing assumptions, and ensuring policy conclusions are robust to the uncertainty that remains.

Analysts and Research Economists

Each research pillar brings together two complementary types of role. In this recruitment campaign, we are hiring for both role types, at G6 and G7:

• Research Economists (this advert) lead the most technical primary research projects, including methodologically demanding, causal empirical studies, and development of novel, robust economic modelling tools. This work will ensure the Institute’s evidence base is of the highest quality and at the frontier of understanding. These roles require deep, specialist technical skills, typically including a PhD and/or a track record of producing high-quality research.
• Analystsbridge the gap between technical research and policy, carrying out a mix of their own primary research and analysis that synthesises internal and external evidence to answer policy‑facing research questions. They are strong analysts in their own right, and their distinctive contribution is helping to answer the questions that matter most in government, drawing out the clear, policy‑relevant insight to inform decisions. These roles demand the judgement and influence to drive research impact at the centre of government. Analyst teams will be interdisciplinary, covering the four Government analytical professions (economics, social research, statistics, operational research).

Both role types are essential, work side by side within each pillar, and carry equal standing in the Institute. The distinction is one of emphasis, not calibre: Research Economists lead frontier research; analysts deliver research and analysis that is policy‑relevant, well‑directed and lands with impact. Project teams may combine both roles, with responsibilities agreed according to the technical and policy‑facing needs of each project. Whichever route you come in through, you will be working on the same critical questions – how AI impacts productivity, work, firms and growth - with unique access to data and modelling capability and proximity to policy decisions. The roles will also work together as a coherent research function, all contributing to the same research agenda, with strong collaboration across team boundaries.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

Research Economist

Company: Government Recruitment Service Salary: £59,207 to £70,958 a year Hours: Full-time Location: Darlington Job type: Permanent Posting date: 9 Nov 2026 Closing date: 29 Nov 2026

Summary

Deliver primary research within one of the AIEI's two pillars - either developing data and delivering empirical studies, or building and running economic models and scenarios - under the direction of Heads of Research Economics. These are early-career specialist roles for researchers with strong technical skills and the potential to grow into a research leadership role in future.

We are recruiting for up to 8 roles under this advert, split between the Data & Empirical Research pillar, and the Modelling & Scenarios pillar. Please make clear which pillar you are most interested in.

Roles are advertised as permanent positions, but we are open to these being arranged as secondments.

The AI Economics Institute (AIEI) is a joint research organisation of HM Treasury and the Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet (OPMC). The AIEI has been established to build and maintain the analytical capability needed to put the UK government at the forefront of understanding AI’s economic impacts. Announced by the Chancellor in the March 2026 Mais Lecture and launched in June 2026, it is the first government‑backed institute of its kind in the world.

AI has the potential to substantially reshape the structure of firms, sectors, and labour markets. The opportunities are extraordinary. AI could drive productivity gains and unlock new sources of growth. At the same time, the transition also carries risks depending on the pace of technological development and how the economy adapts. The AIEI exists to build the data infrastructure, research capability and external relationships needed to assess these impacts rigorously and at pace, and to ensure the resulting evidence informs policy makers. The Institute will assess both opportunities and risks under a range of scenarios, examining how AI affects productivity, labour markets, firms, growth and the income distribution, with particular attention to how the gains are shared across regions, income groups, sectors and generations.

The AIEI is not a policy‑setting body. UK government departments remain responsible for policy decisions in response to AI. The Institute’s role is to improve the quality and timeliness of the evidence and analysis on which those decisions rest. It focuses on priorities where it has a comparative advantage as a research institute at the heart of government, avoiding duplication of work that can happen equally well elsewhere, and engaging widely with academia, business and civil society to inform its work and contribute to public understanding.

The AIEI is modelled on the AI Security Institute, particularly in its research focus, its approach to bringing in external talent, and its access to advanced tools. It is a small, high‑calibre organisation, planning to grow to around 35 FTE by the end of its first year. It will bring together talented civil servants with Research Economists who have hands‑on experience of delivering frontier economic research. It is chaired by Nobel Prize winning economist and former Chief Economist of the IMF, Simon Johnson. A world‑first ambition is to link private sector data, including AI usage data, to government administrative data, providing a unique and rich data ecosystem for empirical research. The Institute’s ambitions for developing world‑leading macroeconomic modelling capability are similarly high.

The two research pillars

The AIEI’s research function is organised around two complementary pillars set out in the published prospectus. All four role types in this campaign are being recruited into one of these two pillars, depending on the specialism of the candidate:

• Data & Empirical Research - developing the data infrastructure, measurement frameworks and empirical research needed to establish an evidence‑based picture of AI’s economic effects as they develop, including causal analysis of AI’s impacts on productivity, labour markets, firms and workers.
• Modelling & Scenarios - connecting potential pathways for AI’s development and adoption to economy‑wide outcomes, building cutting edge economic models and plausible but stretching scenarios, testing assumptions, and ensuring policy conclusions are robust to the uncertainty that remains.

Analysts and Research Economists

Each research pillar brings together two complementary types of role. In this recruitment campaign, we are hiring for both role types, at G6 and G7:

• Research Economists (this advert) lead the most technical primary research projects, including methodologically demanding, causal empirical studies, and development of novel, robust economic modelling tools. This work will ensure the Institute’s evidence base is of the highest quality and at the frontier of understanding. These roles require deep, specialist technical skills, typically including a PhD and/or a track record of producing high-quality research.
• Analystsbridge the gap between technical research and policy, carrying out a mix of their own primary research and analysis that synthesises internal and external evidence to answer policy‑facing research questions. They are strong analysts in their own right, and their distinctive contribution is helping to answer the questions that matter most in government, drawing out the clear, policy‑relevant insight to inform decisions. These roles demand the judgement and influence to drive research impact at the centre of government. Analyst teams will be interdisciplinary, covering the four Government analytical professions (economics, social research, statistics, operational research).

Both role types are essential, work side by side within each pillar, and carry equal standing in the Institute. The distinction is one of emphasis, not calibre: Research Economists lead frontier research; analysts deliver research and analysis that is policy‑relevant, well‑directed and lands with impact. Project teams may combine both roles, with responsibilities agreed according to the technical and policy‑facing needs of each project. Whichever route you come in through, you will be working on the same critical questions – how AI impacts productivity, work, firms and growth - with unique access to data and modelling capability and proximity to policy decisions. The roles will also work together as a coherent research function, all contributing to the same research agenda, with strong collaboration across team boundaries.

About Disability Confident: Disability Confident is a government scheme. It encourages employers to recruit and retain disabled people and those with long term health conditions.

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