Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens

As an Economist at the Federal Trade Commission, you will be performing the following duties:

1. Apply statistical, mathematical, and econometric techniques to the analysis of data to give empirical content to economic theories and test hypotheses in support of policy recommendations.
2. Provide analysis and interpretation of economic and related information collected from companies to support policy and program decision-making.
3. Identify and collect the appropriate data needed to analyze the validity of competing economic theories.
4. Conduct investigations, reviews, and studies that apply a thorough knowledge of microeconomic theory to study the behavior of individual consumers, firms, and industries in order to analyze how markets establish relative prices among goods and services and thereby allocate limited resources among alternative uses.
5. Analyze the likely effects on consumers and competition of mergers, agreements between firms, and individual firm business practices.
6. Prepare economic impact assessments under the laws that govern federal rulemaking to ensure adequate considerations of the costs and benefits of proposed rules.
7. Develop oral and written products, tailored to the needs of the audience, in support of recommendations involving such far-reaching issues as the economic aspects of new or proposed investigations, policies, or rules affecting FTC programs.
8. Undertake research aimed at addressing unresolved theoretical or empirical questions in topics related to competition, consumer protection, and general understanding of consumer and firm behavior.
9. Draft, present, and defend positions for policy, enforcement decisions, and education of other competition agencies.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. citizenship requirement must be met by the closing date of this vacancy.
• This position is subject to a background investigation.
• Males born after December 31, 1959 must register with Selective Service.
• You may serve a one-year probationary period under this appointment.
• This position is not in the bargaining unit.
• You must submit a complete application package by the closing date of this announcement.
• Resume and supporting documents (See How To Apply).
• Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.

Qualifications

To qualify for an Economist position, you must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Basic Requirements:1. Degree: Economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus.

OR

2. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in 1 above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. In addition to the above, you must meet the requirements described below:

You must demonstrate in your resume at least one (1) year of qualifying experience equivalent to the next lower level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector or academia, performing the following types of tasks:

To Qualify at the GS-13 Level: You must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the federal service or private sector or academia. Examples of qualifying experience may include: co-authoring an unpublished research paper and/or working on an economic research project applying quantitative and analytical skills. Specific examples include: identifying data necessary to test models of consumer and firm behavior, producing statistical analysis of consumer behavior, producing written and oral reports based on work with others, and performing interviews with industry participants to understand unique features of an industry.

NOTE: There is no substitution of education for specialized experience at the GS-13 level.

GS-14 Level: You must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the federal service or private sector or academia. Examples of qualifying experience may include: independently preparing economic reports or studies that require advanced research techniques and crafting independent research that demonstrates familiarity with advanced analytical techniques that produced evidence of results. Specific examples include: analyzing strategic firm and consumer behavior, identifying optimal choices based on the competitive environment and available information, identifying and estimating relevant demand elasticities, identifying and evaluating the effects of regulations on the profit-maximizing strategies of firms; assessing the economic benefits and costs of proposed federal rules, and identifying the significance of specific factors affecting a firm's entry to or exit from a market.

NOTE: There is no substitution of education for specialized experience at the GS-14 level.

GS-15 Level: You must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 grade level in the federal service or private sector or academia. Examples of qualifying experience may include: authoring published research articles/books on topics in microeconomics and/or serving as a consultant or advisor on technical economic issues and/or supervisory or project coordination assignments involving a staff of professional economist that results in providing technical advice or recommendations of action. Specific examples include: managing all or part of a team performing economic or econometric analysis being responsible for the content of that analysis, conducting and presenting independent research or policy analysis at an academic or policy institution, determining the reliability of econometric evidence based on appropriateness and limitations of data, economic modeling, and/or statistical methodology; and, weighing analysis against a rebuttal presented by another economist, and explaining the differences between competing economic analyses.

NOTE: There is no substitution of education for specialized experience at the GS-15 level.

Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered. Applicants should also apply to any other GS levels for which they meet the specialized experience requirements. Qualified applicants must exhibit thorough comprehension of microeconomic analysis and effective written and oral communication skills. Economists in all fields of applied microeconomics or econometrics are encouraged to apply.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

If your resume or application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume or application must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume or application contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level.

If you meet the minimum qualification requirements, you will be referred to the selecting official. If your resume does not support the specialized experience, your final rating may be modified and you may be removed from consideration.

The Human Resources Office is ultimately responsible for determining your final rating. Your application will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position.