Work-Study Research Assistant Program

Faculty Name: Remy Levin

Faculty Department: Economics

General Research Focus: The goal of our project, the Historic Risk Lab, is to learn about individuals' risk-taking behavior in the past. We tap unexplored and difficult-to-access historical archives (like the dusty records of old insurance companies) to understand how insurers and underwriters priced various risks and what strategies traders, entrepreneurs, and other economic agents used to cope with risk. The Historic Risk Lab's first priority is to examine risk-taking behavior in two of the most perilous sectors of the economy in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries: the Transatlantic slave trade and the American whaling industry. Our ultimate aim is to build the largest database in the world of pre-1870 insurance policies and other risk-related business records.

Brief Position Description: Research Assistants who join our team will be reading insurance policies from the nineteenth or late eighteenth centuries and inputting the premium rates and other key information into a structured Excel spreadsheet. RAs will work remotely and will have the freedom to schedule their work at any point during their week, except for a weekly 1-1.5 hour meeting on Wednesdays at 5:15pm that all team members are required to attend. The expected total time commitment for the position is 5-7 hours a week, for at least one semester.

Research Assistants will be trained in scientific data collection and English paleography, a set of techniques for deciphering handwritten documents that is an essential skill in any historian's toolbox. They will have the chance to learn about the historic American whaling industry, as well as American economic history more broadly, particularly during the Civil War era, as the insurance policies they will be transcribing include clauses that deal specifically with the risk of attack by Confederate privateers. Research Assistants will also have the chance to experience working as part of a team, being accountable to other team members, meeting weekly and semester-long goals, and will in general learn what it takes to organize a big data collection effort. These skills and experiences will be transferable to a wide variety of work environments.

A "Student Research Review Assistant - 205" will assist faculty in research effort by conducting review of literature and subject material specific to research topics. A student in this position may: 

• Call up photos taken in the archive of historical insurance policies from a folder assigned to the student.
• Transcribe handwritten passages in each insurance policy form.
• Code up variables related to each insurance policy according to protocols created by our team.
• Ensure this information is saved in an Excel spreadsheet/google form.
• Attend weekly lab meetings.
• Bring questions or interesting findings to the attention of PIs and other team members at weekly meetings.