Intern – Regional Cooperation and Integration Division – 2020-17, Manila 231 views

Reference Number: 190705

: Department: Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department

Division: Regional Cooperation and Integration Division

Location: Asian Development Bank Headquarters

Date Posted: Saturday, November 30, 2019

Closing Date: Friday, January 31, 2020 11:59 p.m. (2359 Manila Time, 0800 GMT)

1. INTERNSHIP TOPIC:’Improving and Connecting Asia’s Payment Systems Through FinTech.’

2. SUMMARY OF JOB DESCRIPTION:This assignment involves an in-depth assessment of Asia’s payment system landscape, with focus on the role that advances in financial technology can play to make Asia’s payment systems more affordable, resilient, inclusive, and connected across borders. The intern will conduct a review of existing studies and reports, collate and analyze related data on payments, and employ suitable econometric methods to produce an analytical paper that discusses the benefits and risks from FinTech for improving Asia’s payment systems. This analysis will also discuss suitable policy considerations, both at national and regional level.

3. PERIOD OF ASSIGNMENT:

• Duration: 8-16 weeks
• Timing: June 2020

NOTE:ADB provides a stipend of 69 USD per day for a maximum of 56 calendar days only. Interns may choose to continue work beyond 56 calendar days in agreement with the designated supervisors, but without stipend.

4. LOCATION: ADB Headquarters, Manila, Philippines

5. EXPECTED OUTCOMES:

• Review of literature on the trends, lessons, and experience of the role of FinTech for payment systems.
• Description of recent developments in Asia’s payment systems, with emphasis on the role of digital payment systems.
• Preparation of a set of indicators to measure (i) development, (ii) efficiency, (iii) inclusion, and (ii) integration of Asia’s payment systems, incl. a distinction of conventional and e-payment systems.
• Design and estimation of a suitable statistical model or technique to determine the factors affecting development, efficiency, inclusion, and integration of Asia’s payment systems.

• Tags

  economic research

  fintech

  internship

  regional cooperation

• A draft working paper that discusses the impacts of FinTech on payment systems in Asia, related opportunities and challenges, as well as policy considerations.
• Presentation of the paper in an ERCD seminar.

Qualifications

6. EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:Currently enrolled in a Masters or PhD program in economics or finance with emphasis on finance and technology.

7. RELEVANT EXPERIENCE AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

• Strong quantitative, analytical, and conceptual skills in economics and finance;
• Experience in handling and analyzing large data sets on financial economics;
• Sound knowledge of global FinTech developments and landscape;
• Basic, or ideally sound, knowledge of the functioning of payment systems;
• Demonstrated expertise in economic research;
• Extensive knowledge of econometric and statistical approaches and high proficiency in statistical and mathematical programming software such as STATA, MATLAB, and EVIEWS;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:Upload the following documents in the ‘Attachments’ section of your application:1. Curriculum vitae (CV)2. Proof of enrollment to a Masters or PhD program. Inclusive dates should confirm that you will be enrolled during the intended period of assignment.3. Essay in MS WORD or PDF document, maximum of 1500 words per question. (Please see essay questions below)

ESSAY QUESTIONS:(1) Describe one example of your experience that demonstrated your interest in working in ADB. (2) Highlight your qualifications that will help accomplish this internship assignment (e.g., coursework, research, work experience, etc.).