Ifd/Cmf Applied Economic And Financial Research Senior Consultant Consultant

Post of duty: Washington, D.C. – USA.

The IDB Group is a community of diverse, versatile, and passionate people who come together on a journey to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our people find purpose and do what they love in an inclusive, collaborative, agile, and rewarding environment.

About this position

The Connectivity, Markets and Finance Division (IFD/CMF) typically processes three types of operations: Multi Sector Global Credit Loans (MSG), Competitiveness Technical Assistance Loans (CTA), and Policy Based Loans (PBL). In addition to this, IFD/CMF actively engages in Applied Economic research within predetermined areas of interest, aimed specifically to support operations, policy dialogue, and provide solutions to counterparts within borrowing countries. This Applied Economic research usually takes place within the framework of ESW, Technical Cooperation, specific consultancies. With the continued development of complex bespoke financial solutions targeting various objectives simultaneously (such as providing improved access to credit, while attending to gender equality and environmental sustainability), the supporting Applied Economic research becomes increasingly crosscutting requiring the engagement of seasoned economists with experience in the provision of tailor-made analytical solutions as demanded by operational divisions in Public Development Institutions.

Some of the key areas and topics in which IFD/CMF is actively engaged in developing innovative financial solutions that benefit from the in-house Applied Economic research are:

1.- Socio-Economic and Financial Monitoring & Evaluation. For the past eight years IFD/CMF has continually improved the monitoring and evaluation plans for its lending operations. Over that time, the division has gained valuable specific knowledge regarding the validity and applicability of various approaches to the development of effective monitoring and evaluation systems. Currently, IFD/CMF is engaged in a widespread collaboration with regional development banks providing guidance and support for the development and implementation of a micro founded and consistent framework that would provide public institutions with actionable information and improve reporting specifically focused on three areas: productivity, sustainability, and inclusion and the generation of dashboard and platform of results and products indicators at the beneficiary level.

2.- Credit rationing and market failures in specifically in LAC for understanding how credit rationing varies across firms depending on their own characteristics and their sector and institutional environment.IFD/CMF is engaged in knowledge products to use primary source firm-level data surveys from World Bank Enterprise Surveys and other sources to measure credit rationing in LAC.

3.- Data analysis technologies, Big data and digitization in the banking sector: the use of AI. IFD/CMF is developing a knowledge agenda to adopt and adapt many of new technologies and processes for improving the policy dialogue, diagnostics process, program formulation, and monitoring and evaluation for public sector financial support.

To maximize the value generated from these multiple lines of applied research, it is advisable to follow an integrative approach, where careful attention is dedicated to the articulation of the various projects, leveraging efforts and resources -including consultancy services. Given these complex and continued demands, we are currently seeking an expert to act as senior economic consultant to meet the division’s needs in Applied Economic and Financial Research by developing, implementing, and (when necessary) directing empirical research in areas related to:

To address, support member countries in inclusive, environmentally sustainable productive

development, the IFD/CMF assists member countries to overcome, the financing barriers that limit their productive development. Areas of work include financial inclusion, financial and fiscal risk management, financial transparency, housing finance, public debt management, green finance, among others.

What you’ll do:

• Produce technical reports of advancement, to be used in one or more of the following ways: (i) advanced or final draft to be published as a Technical or Policy Note; (ii) key input (datasets, econometric analysis) for Policy or Technical notes; (iii) operational support (technical or concept notes to support policy dialogue or program rationale); (iv) key input or operational support for Technical Cooperations or Economic Sector Work.
• Present research results (from technical notes) in workshops and/or conferences, as part of the dissemination strategy for the research agenda.
• Develop actionable research plans, according to the directions of the supervising specialist in line with the empirical research needs and ResearchTechnical Cooperations of the Division.
• Use state-of-the-art quantitative econometric methods when necessary to inform policy dialogue and/or operation preparations.
• Review literature and provide inputs for diagnosis and operational discussions on financial instrument and effectiveness of operations.
• Development and implementation of mechanisms to integrate technical knowledge and analysis into the design, monitoring, and evaluation of the CMF operations.
• Support the implementation of the CMF knowledge management system and research repository.
• Implement tools and platforms to reduce cost of managing information and efficiency to enhance development effectiveness.
• Support the development and review of Theory of Change and relevant indicators for CMF operations to enhance development effectiveness.