EconJobMarket®

Advertiser: Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality, City University of New York Graduate Center

Field(s) of specialization: Business Economics

Position type(s): Research Assistant

Location of job: 365 Fifth Avenue, The Graduate Center, CUNY, New York, New York, 10016, United States

Degree required: Doctorate

Job start date: Flexible

Job duration: Continuing/permanent

Letters of reference required: 3

Application deadline: 2 Nov 2026 midnight UTC (accepting applications)

Posting end date: 2 Nov 2026

Ad text:

Position Title: Research Associate (Postdoctoral Scholar) in Wealth Inequality - Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality

Job ID: 32383

Compensation: $90,000/year plus an allowance for research-related expenditures, as well as an allowance for hiring research assistants from the Graduate Center’s student population. This position is generously funded by the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation.

Closing Date: November 2, 2026

CAMPUS SPECIFIC INFORMATION

The Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY) is the focal point for advanced teaching and research at CUNY, the nation's largest urban public university. The Graduate Center’s commitment to research and scholarship for the public good is exemplified by its more than 30 centers, institutes, and initiatives, including its Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC), a 200,000 square-foot facility in upper Manhattan, designed to promote collaboration among scientists in five areas of growing importance in serving the community: nanoscience, photonics, structural biology, neuroscience, and environmental sciences.

The Graduate Center (GC) benefits from highly ambitious and diverse students and alumni—who in turn teach hundreds of thousands of undergraduates every year. Through its public programs, the Graduate Center enhances New York City’s intellectual and cultural life.

STONE CENTER

The James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality conducts and promotes quantitative research using inequality as a lens on society, politics, and the economy. The core faculty, the affiliated and postdoctoral scholars, and the students working within the center share a commitment to scholarship that is data-driven, interdisciplinary, and policy-oriented, often addressing questions that are cross-nationally comparative or global in scope.

The Stone Center:

• Is home to a group of six core faculty members (senior scholars) who teach sociology, political science, and economics, and who—with graduate students and external affiliated scholars—are actively engaged in research addressing diverse aspects of socio-economic inequalities;
• Hosts the US Office of LIS, the cross-national data center in Luxembourg, with socio-economic microdata from 60+ countries;
• Organizes public programs related to inequality and collaborates with the Graduate Center’s Office of Public Programs on several large events each year.

For more information about the Stone Center visit https://stonecenter.gc.cuny.edu/

CALL FOR ONE POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLAR

The Stone Center seeks to hire a Research Associate (Postdoctoral Scholar) working on wealth and/or wealth inequality, to carry out research focused on the United States, on other countries, or through cross-country comparisons. This position reports to the Stone Center Director and is a full-time two-year position beginning in August 2027.

Priority will be given to candidates conducting research in the following areas:

• Distribution of private and public wealth, wealth inequality, wealth concentration;
• Land distribution and inequality;
• Intergroup wealth disparities (e.g., by gender, race, ethnicity, migration status, subnational unit);
• Intersection of wealth inequality, climate policies, and climate crisis:
• Determinants (including public policies) and consequences of wealth concentration;
• The economics of property and ownership rights;
• Wealth taxes, real estate and property taxes, estate/inheritance/gift (EIG) taxes, and/or other policies that shape wealth accumulation and wealth transfers; behavioral responses.

The allocation of time will be approximately as follows:

• 70% - The postdoctoral scholar will have the opportunity to work individually on their own research projects related to wealth.
• 30% -The postdoctoral scholar will join the ongoing team of the GC Wealth Project. The postdoctoral scholar will contribute to the Wealth Project's work, which includes gathering, curating, and producing data and research related to wealth inequality, wealth composition, and wealth taxation, across countries and over time-the precise role will be determined mutually.
• In this role, the postdoctoral scholar will work closely with other Wealth Project team members, including one other postdoctoral scholar, and may also supervise M.A./Ph.D. student research assistants. The work includes collaboration with the GC Wealth Project teams located both in NYC and in the satellite office of the Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality at Roma Tre University. The Rome Office is overseen by Salvatore Morelli, the director of the GC Wealth Project.

All full-time and part-time CUNY staff are expected to work in-person at their campus office 80% of their work time. For full-time staff, this is equivalent to 8 out of 10 days of in-person work in a two-week period (e.g., 8 days in person, 2 days remote). This hybrid work schedule is subject to change.

Minimum Qualifications:
Doctoral Degree in a related field and demonstrated research ability.

Other Qualifications:

A preferred candidate should have:

• Ph.D. degree in economics, sociology, political science, demography, public policy, or a related social science discipline

-Applicants must have completed their Ph.D. no more than seven years prior to the application date;

-Applicants must demonstrate that their Ph.D. degree will be completed by late-August 2027;

• Research portfolio that demonstrates interest in and experience with empirical, methodological, or theoretical scholarship on socio-economic inequality, with a focus on the content areas noted above;
• High level of technical skill, expertise in a range of quantitative methods, and experience with complex data sets;
• Experience with communicating research findings in a way that is relevant to the public.

Benefits:
CUNY offers a comprehensive benefits package to employees and eligible dependents based on job title and classification. Employees are also offered pension and Tax-Deferred Savings Plans. Part-time employees must meet a weekly or semester work hour criteria to be eligible for health benefits. Health benefits are also extended to retirees who meet the eligibility criteria.

How to Apply:

Go to http://cuny.jobs/ and search for Job ID 32383.

Please click on “Apply Now” below which links to the registration screen. If you are a new user, you must register to apply. If you already have a user ID, please use your existing ID. The following are all required:

1. Curriculum vitae.

2. Statement of interest, not to exceed 1,500 words. The statement of interest should:

-Summarize your qualifications, and describe your past work related to wealth inequality.

-Include a brief description of the projects that you hope/expect to carry out during the two-year period.

-Indicate whether you have a Ph.D. degree and the month and year in which you attained your Ph.D. degree.

-If you do not have a Ph.D. degree at the time of application, please indicate the month and year by which you will have a Ph.D. degree.

3. One writing sample. Please do not submit multiple writing samples.

4. Contact details for three (3) professional references, including their name, title, organization, telephone number, and email address. Letters of recommendation are not required with the initial application.

Please upload all documents in PDF format as one file.

The search committee will complete an initial round of screening. Candidates selected for interviews will be asked to provide three letters of recommendation. All interviews will be conducted remotely via Zoom.

Scholars studying facets of economic inequality may choose to apply for a different Stone Center postdoctoral scholar position, referenced here as Job ID 32384. Candidates whose research experience is appropriate for both positions are welcome to apply to both.

A J-1 visa may be offered to eligible individuals.

Equal Employment Opportunity:
CUNY encourages people with disabilities, minorities, veterans and women to apply. At CUNY, Italian Americans are also included among our protected groups. Applicants and employees will not be discriminated against on the basis of any legally protected category, including sexual orientation or gender identity. EEO/AA/Vet/Disability Employer.