Economist (Government)

Government Economists translate complex economic evidence into policy-relevant analysis that informs decisions affecting millions of people. Whether they're at a regulatory agency estimating the economic impact of a proposed safety rule, at a statistical agency producing the monthly jobs report, or at a budget office scoring the cost of legislation, they are the people responsible for making sure those decisions are grounded in evidence.

The daily work varies significantly by agency. At a regulatory agency like EPA or OSHA, economists spend much of their time on regulatory impact analyses — modeling the costs to regulated industries, estimating the benefits to public health or the environment, and comparing the economic efficiency of different regulatory approaches. At statistical agencies like BLS or BEA, work involves survey design, data processing, estimation methodology, and quality review for the national economic statistics the entire country uses. At budget offices, economists produce forecasts, score legislation, and advise on the economic assumptions in budget projections.

Data skills are central. Government economists work with large administrative datasets, survey microdata, and proprietary data that academic economists rarely access. The ability to clean, manipulate, and analyze these datasets — in Stata, R, Python, or SAS — is as important as the economic intuition to know what to look for.

Communication is underrated in the job description but critical in practice. The analysis that gets used is the analysis that gets communicated clearly — in a memo a policymaker can read in three minutes, a chart that makes the key finding obvious, or testimony that an appropriations staffer can follow without an economics background. Government economists who write well and can translate technical findings into plain language have outsized influence.

The institutional dimension matters. Government economists operate within hierarchies, political appointees, and processes that can shape what analysis gets requested, how it gets framed, and whether it gets acted on. Understanding how policy is made — not just how economics works — is what distinguishes effective government economists from technically strong analysts who struggle to have impact.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in economics, statistics, or mathematics for research assistant and GS-9 positions
• Master's degree in economics, public policy, or applied economics for GS-11 and above at most agencies
• Ph.D. in economics for senior research economist positions, especially at statistical agencies, CBO, and Federal Reserve
• Strong quantitative training is required regardless of degree level; agencies screening for analytical ability prioritize econometrics and statistics coursework

Federal hiring specifics:

• Economist positions are primarily in the GS-0110 series; related series include 0150 (Geography) and 0101 (Social Science) at some agencies
• PATHWAYS programs offer two-year fellowships for recent graduates as a pipeline to permanent federal economist positions
• Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) program is another competitive pathway to federal policy analyst and economist roles

Technical skills:

• Econometrics: regression analysis, causal inference methods, time series
• Statistical software: Stata is dominant in most federal agencies; R and Python are increasingly used; SAS at statistical agencies
• Cost-benefit and regulatory impact analysis methodology
• Economic data sources: familiarity with BLS, BEA, Census, and Federal Reserve data structures

Regulatory analysis knowledge (for regulatory agency roles):

• OMB Circular A-4 on regulatory analysis — the federal standard for cost-benefit analysis methodology
• OIRA review process
• Valuation of statistical life (VSL), discount rates, and uncertainty analysis standards

Government economists hold a stable and valuable position in the federal workforce. The analytical functions they perform — producing national statistics, evaluating regulatory costs and benefits, scoring legislation, and analyzing labor markets — are essential and do not disappear regardless of political cycles or budget pressures.

Demand for economists has been broadly stable at the federal level, with modest growth in agencies with expanding analytical mandates — notably the CFPB (financial consumer protection economics), EPA (environmental economics in climate rule development), and FTC/DOJ (antitrust economics in tech and merger review). State-level demand is driven by labor market information, budget analysis, and regulatory economics at public utility commissions.

The political appointment dimension is relevant. Some high-profile government economist positions — Chief Economist of a regulatory agency, OMB's chief analyst — are political appointments that turn over with administrations. Career economist positions are protected under federal civil service, but the type of work assigned and the policy questions economists are asked to analyze can change significantly.

The competition between government economics and private sector economics (consulting, finance, tech) is real. Major economic consulting firms (Charles River Associates, NERA, Compass Lexecon, Analysis Group), financial institutions, and technology companies can pay substantially more than GS pay scales allow. Government retains advantages in job security, mission alignment, benefits, and in some cases unique data access — but salary compression at senior levels is a persistent challenge.

For economists motivated by public service and large-scale impact, government positions offer work that directly affects major policy outcomes. A regulatory economist at EPA who produces rigorous cost-benefit analysis of a major air quality rule is contributing to decisions that affect public health nationwide. That scale of impact is difficult to match in most private sector roles.

Dear [Agency] Office of Policy or Economics,

I am applying for the Economist (GS-12/13) position at [Agency]. I have a master's degree in Applied Economics from [University] and three years of analytical experience at [Agency/Organization], where I produce regulatory impact analyses for proposed rules under the agency's statutory authority.

In my current role, I have led or co-led RIAs for four proposed rules, including [describe one — e.g., a safety standard affecting approximately 40,000 manufacturing facilities with estimated annual compliance costs of $280M and estimated benefits of $650M in reduced injury costs]. I am familiar with OMB Circular A-4 methodology, including VSL valuation, discount rate selection, and uncertainty analysis using Monte Carlo methods.

I work primarily in Stata and R for data analysis. I maintain the office's longitudinal dataset that tracks compliance costs for the regulated industry over time, and I developed a new approach to estimating baseline injury rates that was incorporated into the office's standard methodology after peer review.

I've also contributed to two public comments on proposed rules from other agencies, helping our economists participate in interagency review processes under E.O. 12866. That work required understanding how different agencies frame costs and benefits and how to communicate technical disagreements through formal comment channels.

I'm applying to [Agency] because of its work on [specific regulatory program or analytical area] and because I want to broaden my experience beyond the sector I've been analyzing. I hold a master's degree, but my quantitative training in econometrics and the depth of my applied RIA experience position me for GS-12 or higher.

[Your Name]