2025-06-16
Harvard University
Other
/yr
employee
contract
Cambridge
Massachusetts
02163
United States
Harvard University
Title: Pre-Doctoral Fellowship (Prof. Dell)
School: Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Position Description: Prof. Dell is seeking a pre-doctoral fellow to support research on the project "Trade Policy and Long-Run Economic Development." This project investigates when and how tariff barriers either foster or hinder long-term economic development, through a comparative analysis of trade policy and 20th-century development in Mexico, Taiwan (under the KMT ), and mainland China (also under the KMT ).
A central focus is the political economy challenge of infant industry protection. Economic theory suggests that tariffs should be phased out once domestic industries become developed enough to compete in the global economy. However, as these industries grow, their political influence often increases, allowing them to lobby for continued protection-potentially resulting in inefficient domestic industries shielded from competition.
The comparison between Taiwan and mainland China offers a unique natural experiment. When the KMT retreated to Taiwan, most of the mainland industrialists went instead to Hong Kong, severing political ties that might otherwise have skewed tariff policy toward political rather than economic objectives. In contrast, the single party state in 20th century Mexico was deeply entwined with economic interests.
Our team has developed deep learning tools to harmonize detailed historical data on tariffs, exports, and industrial output. We also use natural language processing to extract evidence about political connections. Preliminary results suggest that Mexican tariffs show wide variation across narrowly defined industries, where it is difficult to think of an economic justification. In contrast, Taiwan's tariffs appear more economically rational-less variation across similar industries and higher tariffs for sectors with strong downstream linkages.
The pre-doctoral fellow will contribute primarily to statistical analyses of the data and the development of deep learning models for data extraction and standardization. While prior experience with deep learning is not required, proficiency in Python is essential. Knowledge of Spanish or traditional Chinese is a plus but not required.
Visa can be arranged.
Basic Qualifications:
PI273423252
