Research Consultant - Flexibility at the Workplace and Contract Choice - J-PAL South Asia

Project: Flexibility at the Workplace and Contract Choice

Start Date: January 21, 2024

Base Location: Odisha, India

Length of Commitment: 3 months
Education: Bachelor’s/Master’s
Organization: J-PAL South Asia at IFMR

Language requirement: English required, Odia preferred

Principal Investigators: Suanna Oh, Yogita Shamdasani, Sampreet Goraya


About the Organization

 

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) J-PAL was established in 2003 as a research center at the Economics Department at MIT. Since then, it has grown into a global network of researchers who use randomized evaluations to answer critical policy questions in the fight against poverty. J-PAL is propelled by a team dedicated to research, policy, training, and other vital work, supporting J-PAL's mission to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence.

 

J-PAL South Asia, the regional office which is based at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) in India, analyses and disseminates research results and builds partnerships with policymakers to ensure that policy is driven by evidence, and that programs proven effective are scaled up. For more information on J-PAL SA, please see http://www.povertyactionlab.org/south-asia.

 

Project Description

There is a growing policy consensus that increases in firm productivity, and, in particular, a move from small- to medium-sized enterprises, is an important growth strategy. A large body of recent work has focused on removing potential market frictions that impede firm growth, with an emphasis on interventions in the credit or skills sector. Relatively less attention has been paid to the potential frictions in the labour market, despite labour being the biggest factor input in production for small firms in low-income countries. In this project, we explore a potential source of friction in markets for casual labour: the absence of flexible labour contracts in a setting in which worker absenteeism is rampant.

Worker absenteeism is common, despite unemployment rates being high. Previous work suggests that absenteeism and turnover problems are higher in economies that are in the process of structural transformation towards formalised production and contracting (Allen 1981, Leigh 1983, Benavides et al. 2000). Studies of various current labour market settings in developing countries have estimated that anywhere from 5-25% of scheduled worker days are lost to absence. In India, where we plan to conduct this study, the rate of absence stands at 8% of worker-days among permanent manufacturing employees (Annual Survey of Industries, India).

Specifically, we test for the existence of a demand for flexibility in work arrangements among casual labourers using a field experiment in Odisha, one of India’s poorest states (Raghuram Rajan Committee Report, 2013). Using a revealed preference approach, we empirically document workers’ preferences over types of labour contracts and their willingness to pay for flexibility in work arrangements. We first measure how much workers value contract flexibility in terms of forgone wage earnings using an incentive-compatible choice experiment. To do this, we offer each participant a series of choices over two contracts, one flexible and one rigid, and record their acceptance or rejection of the job. From this, we can calculate each worker’s valuation for each type of flexibility in work arrangements.

Roles and Responsibilities:

 

The Research Consultant will work closely with RAs, RM and Principal Investigators and the field team to perform a variety tasks including, but not limited to:

  1. Assisting with planning of field activities, monitoring, and troubleshooting during the implementation phase.
  2. Supporting the Research Associate to train, and supervise survey staff
  3. Overseeing the implementation of the field data collection in accordance with the research design ensuring high-quality data.
  4. Overseeing the implementation of the worksites and adherence to strict protocols ensuring high-quality data.
  5. Assisting with data cleaning, data quality checks and monitoring, and preliminary data analysis
  6. Assisting the research team with other tasks including documentation
  7. Reporting to PIs on all of the above mentioned activities.
  8. Any other task as assigned by the Research Manager, and/or by the Principal Investigators.

 

Desired Qualifications and Experience:

 

  1. Bachelor's/Master's degree in economics, mathematics, education, social sciences, public policy or related fields.
  2. Experience of 0-1 years, especially working in development research or education sector, preferred.
  3. Excellent people management and organizational skills.
  4. Strong quantitative and qualitative research skills.
  5. Proficiency in data collection.
  6. Knowledge of Stata (strongly preferred) or statistical analysis software or programming languages, along with proficiency in Microsoft Office.
  7. Fluency and excellent communication skills in English and Tamil is required.
  8. Flexible, self-motivating, independent, and skilled to manage multiple tasks efficiently
  9. Team player with the ability to deal with unstructured and changing environment
  10. Attention to detail and a relentless attitude for solution-seeking to unexpected challenges in complex context
  11. Familiarity with randomized controlled trials/clinical trials/quasi-experiments preferred

 

Note on Work Authorizations: Candidates must have work authorization to work in India.