Since its foundation by Portuguese colonists, Brazil, the largest country in Latin America, has experienced an important immigrant flow. Over time, the Brazilian government has influenced this flow by implementing policies that support the needs of the economy. If during the first half of the 20th century governmental policies targeted low-skilled immigrants for work in the agricultural sector, in the last quarter of the century the government aimed to attract highly skilled immigrants to the country. The new trend was marked by the adoption of a new immigration law in 1981, which introduced new processes for visas and work permits and created a number of obstacles for low skilled migration.

When I was about to receive my Bachelor diploma, I was confused. I knew where I wanted to work, but I didn’t know how to get there with a Degree in Law. I also knew that I needed to steer my professional training towards economics, but I didn’t know how. The problem was that I just didn’t have enough credits in any economics-related disciplines to meet the requirements of the majority of study programs available. After having weighed all the options, I made up my mind to apply for an MA in Public Policy and to try to focus on economics-related disciplines.

Last year, we posted an article titled “Internships in Economics – Lessons from an Economist,” which offered useful advice about the importance of internships and how to find what you’re looking for. Now, as spring is flying by and summer is just around the corner, we know that many of you are in the process of finding a summer internship. In this post, we’ll highlight a few specific internships and delve into the many great places to intern for anyone interested in economics and finance.

Vladimir Hlasny is an associate professor of Economics at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. We chose him as the winner of our Conference Grant Contest 2016 and awarded him with a €500 grant. The prize helped him to attend the Joint NIDI-RUG Workshop on Socioeconomics Differences and Health Later in Life organized by the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Groningen. Over 670 participants took part in the contest by submitting short answers related to their own academic career growth. You can see Vladimir's winning answer here.

Following up on last week’s list of Top Think Tanks and Social Science Research Institutes in Europe, this post is dedicated to top institutions in the United States. Although the U.S. is home to hundreds of research institutes, focusing on a vast array of disciplines and issues, there is a certain degree of consensus regarding which are the most respected. In the list below, we chose to highlight top think tanks working in the broad areas of politics, economics and international relations.

Conferences have been a pillar of academic thought in the western world for almost a century. Organizations including the American Economic Association (AEA) (organized in 1885, incorporated in 1923), the Royal Economic Society (RES) (incorporated in 1902, although their journal The Economic Journal dates back to 1891), the Western Economic Association International (WEAI) (1922) and the International Atlantic Economic Society (IAES) (1973) have lead the way with their annual meetings that draw anywhere from a couple hundred to over 10,000 annual visitors; and these are only the tip of the iceberg.

Following the entry on this blog last month about countries with the most top 100 economics departments according to REPEC data, I thought it a worthwhile pursuit to look a little more into these rankings, and to seek out some alternatives to that offered by REPEC.

In this report, which was just released on the INOMICS website, we offer a detailed look at the interests and experiences of economists in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. With the participation of over 300 economists from these three countries, we gathered a broad range of data in response to questions regarding fields of specialization, international mobility, job market preferences, top employers and many other issues. While nearly a third of survey respondents were PhD candidates, researchers made up another significant portion of participants (20%) and other respondents included professors, consultants, analysts, lecturers and others.

As previously mentioned in our articles about Spanish professionals moving to South America and Brazil as a new destination for skilled migration, Latin America is becoming ever more attractive in terms of professional development for people from all over the world. Latin American migration trends are undoubtedly connected to demographic and economic indicators for the region. In some cases, countries like Brazil stand out thanks to promising conditions for foreign employees, or increasing living standards and wages for the higher-educated workforce.

At this time of year, with the summer heat visibly rising from the Berlin pavement, for many there is nothing more appealing than a cold beer in one of the city’s numerous beer gardens. And perhaps among these Berlin beer lovers, more than a couple of economists might be found as well.

Globalization has had a significant impact on the structure and function of organizations. Nowadays, HR and student recruiters are eager to offer positions to candidates from all over the world who provide a diversity of talent, the best skills and cultural adaptability. Previously we have discussed why hiring an international candidate can benefit your workplace and the multiple benefits of international students for universities. Now we want to go deeper into the topic of diversity recruitment and present some techniques to gather the best talent for your institution and maintain a happy, multicultural team.

Source: Estadística de Variaciones Residenciales y Estimaciones de la Población Actual, INE.

Following our highly discussed list of 30 Top Twitter Feeds in Economics and Finance, we wanted to keep the conversation going by sharing our selection of top Twitter feeds in political science. This list includes academics, researchers, journalists and many others who focus on political science, politics, international relations, public policy and related fields.

Even though many (especially young and less experienced) job candidates attend interviews with an anticipation of being assessed, in reality the assessment always happens in both directions. And the more that a talented applicant has to offer, the pickier he or she can be when making a final decision.

There are many factors affecting one’s decision when choosing a job, and as the INOMICS Economics Job Market Report showed last year, a friendly working environment, flexible working hours and time to conduct one’s own research seem to be the top three priorities worldwide. Salaries are rated fifth, but as we all know, expected remuneration can easily affect one’s career choice.

Carolina Pan is an Argentine student, currently in the last year of her PhD program in International Economics at Brandeis University, USA. We chose her as the winner of our Conference Grant Contest 2015 and awarded her with a €500 grant. The prize helped her to attend the 3rd Geography of Innovation Conference organized by the University of Toulouse and Sciences-Po Toulouse in France. Participants from over 50 countries took part in the contest by submitting short explanations about their personal reasons for going to their chosen event. You can see her winning answer here.

With 2017 ASSA Annual Meeting in mind, we thought that this information will be helpful for all of you who are considering pursuing a PhD degree in Economics as many students and prospective PhD candidates often question whether obtaining a PhD in Economics is worth it. Will the time, effort and money spent on working towards a PhD guarantee you a higher salary when compared to the salary that can be earned with a Master’s or Bachelor’s degree?

* The original article was published in the INOMICS Customer Newsletter. Click here to subscribe.