Grants to Support Data for Economic Measurement Research Projects
To support the launch of economic measurement research projects that aim to create new or improved economic statistics, the Economic Measurement Research Institute (EMRI) at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), with the support of the National Science Foundation, invites proposals from early-career faculty members and dissertation-writing doctoral students for small data acquisition grants. Economic measurement research topics that could fit well with the aims of EMRI include price measurement, national or regional income and product measures, employment and wage statistics, technology indicators, and a range of other economic measurement research topics focused on the creation of new or improved economic statistics.
Examples of the types of data purchases that are envisioned include, but are not limited to:
- Data sets from payroll service providers that specialize in small employers to measure their employment and wage trends.
- Extracts of government administrative data to better capture output and employment for sectors that are not captured with existing official surveys.
- Subscriptions to or acquisitions of proprietary data sources to measure quality-adjusted prices for emerging technologies.
- Location data sold by aggregators to measure economic activity for small businesses based on traffic patterns.
Grants generally will be between $2,500 and $7,500 and may only be used to cover costs associated with data purchases, including subscriptions to data providers. Grants may not be used to hire research assistants, to cover the salaries of project investigators, or to support the acquisition of data for projects that are not focused on economic measurement and the creation of new or improved economic statistics. The NBER will not cover any indirect costs associated with data purchases or make sub-awards to other institutions. Invoices for data purchases may be paid directly by the NBER, or project investigators can be reimbursed for data purchase expenses.
Research proposals should include:
- A cover page with a title.
- A short abstract and names of the investigator(s).
- No more than three pages of project description.
- An itemized budget.
- The investigator(s) curriculum vitae(s).
In addition, proposals from doctoral students should include a one-page letter of support from a senior researcher with knowledge of the project. The letter of support may affirm that:
1) The project is an economic measurement project as outlined in this call for proposals.
2) The proposal is a good faith representation of the project and the proposed use of data.
3) The student is currently working or intends to work on the project, including the proposed use of data.
4) The senior researcher plans to advise or supervise the project to some degree.
Research proposals should be compiled into a single PDF file and submitted via the following form (please note that a Google account is required to access the link):
The letter of support for doctoral students should be included in the single PDF file with the research proposal or may be emailed separately to Dylan Rassier at rassierd@nber.org.
Researchers who submit proposals must be at a US college or university. Proposals are welcome from researchers with and without NBER affiliations.
Grantees will be expected to provide a summary of research work completed, or a preliminary working paper, within 14 months after receiving the award.
Proposals will be reviewed by Katharine Abraham (EMRI Co-Director), Matthew Shapiro (EMRI Co-Director), and Dylan Rassier (EMRI Executive Director).
Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis until all funding has been allocated. Proposals will be reviewed within six to eight weeks of their submission, and researchers will receive notification of the reviewers’ decision but will not receive comments or a justification for the funding outcome.
Please direct any questions to Dylan Rassier at rassierd@nber.org.