Postdoctoral Researcher Position

Koç University's Graduate School of Social Sciences and Humanities (GSSSH) invites applications for a postdoctoral researcher position for Assistant Professor Merih Angin's project titled IMF Decides, Machine Learns: An AI Approach to IOs, funded by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey's (TÜBİTAK) 2232- International Fellowship for Outstanding Researchers.

The project creates a novel methodology and framework for understanding International Monetary Fund (IMF) program design, shedding light on the processes leading to variation in IMF lending. It is one of the legs of an extensive research that is also funded by the European Commission's Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions, analyzing IMF lending using machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) together, forming a comprehensive model that takes into account all actors and factors determining the terms of an IMF program.

The interdisciplinary nature of this research requires collaboration between political science/international relations, economics and computer science disciplines. The project brings together a team of expert researchers in these fields to make an innovative methodological contribution to the study of IMF programs, and consequently to the field of international political economy. To learn about the projects conducted by our team, please visit MA Computational Social Science Lab's website: www.ma-cssl.com

Responsibilities of the postdoctoral researcher:

• Data collection
• NLP tool development
• Application of ML algorithms to the problem defined in the project

Qualifications:

• Ph.D. degree in economics or related field
• Familiarity with ML & NLP
• Strong programming background
• Fluency in English
• LaTeX knowledge

The starting date of the position is 1 October 2020 (or upon agreement). Funding is available for up to 24 months.

Applicants should send their full application in English, including cover letter, CV, a writing sample, and the contact details of an academic reference to Merih Angin (mangin@ku.edu.tr) no later than 31 August 2020.