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The Labor Dynamics Institute goals are trifold. We study and improve labor market outcomes of workers; more generally we improve access to and understanding of data sources for the study of the labor market; and improve the transparency and accessibility of economics research to enhance its credibility.

Employment Opportunities

Work with LDI

LDI designs many of its projects to include Cornell graduate and undergraduate students. We hire a number of times a year. Interested?

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Future of Work: Research focuses

We investigate effective labor market outcomes for workers. Current projects feature creating, maintaining, and enhancing job search tools with the goal of observing outcomes of such interventions for workers. We are building collaborations with Computer and Data Scientists at both faculty and student level to enhance research into this field. We have examined existing online platforms to understand features and how employers use them. We also advocate advancing changes in employer records at the federal level to enable measurement of outcomes not previously possible..

We seek to improve access to data at multiple levels. Our leadership and affiliates serve on National Academies panels and committees at government agencies in the United States and Canada that are tasked with enabling easier and enhanced access to comprehensive confidential administrative data for research. Our affiliate Erica Groshen is a leading advocate for a U.S. "21st Century National Data Infrastructure." Better data access contributes to our other goals. It enables more comprehensive scrutiny of academic research when data cannot be published, supporting integrity even where transparency is limited.

We house leading practice and research to make economics more transparent and reproducible. LDI's Reproducibility Lab conducts reproducibility verifications for American Economic Association's Data Editor. We coordinate and share expertise with colleagues in economics, sociology, political science, program evaluation, demography, and computer science at Cornell and elsewhere to improve infrastructure, methods, and standards. Our projects also pursue development of new standards and tools to enhance transparency. 

Latest News

“Labor in New York in 2026” Presented in Albany

Experts from the ILR School met with Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Harry B. Bronson, New York State Chairs of the Committee on Labor, to discuss the current state of labor in New York.
Esta Bigler presents to Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Harry B. Bronson in Albany.
“Labor in New York in 2026” Presented in Albany

LDI Seeks Next Replication Lab Coordinator and Research Assistant

The School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the Law School at Cornell University is seeking a Replication Lab Coordinator & Research Assistant (Research Aide IV). This full-time, benefits-eligible position is based in the Labor Dynamics Institute (LDI) on the Cornell campus, with a joint appointment in the Law School.
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LDI Seeks Next Replication Lab Coordinator and Research Assistant

Acquire Replication Skills During Your Studies

Interview with Lars Vilhuber, Executive Director of ILR’s Labor Dynamics Institute, about Open Science and reproducibility in teaching.
Photo of Lars Vilhuber, Executive Director of ILR’s Labor Dynamics Institute
Acquire Replication Skills During Your Studies

Join LDI’s Replication Lab

Join a leading research verification effort and grow your computational skills.
ILR School
Join LDI’s Replication Lab

Abowd Honored for Advancing Computing Field

An ILR emeritus professor has “transformed the government’s capacity to improve the accuracy and availability of vital statistical and data resources,” according to the Association for Computing Engineering.
John Abowd
Abowd Honored for Advancing Computing Field

John Abowd highlights better U.S. Census products

Watch Prof. Abowd's explainer of which Census sources for statistical researchers offer the most under 2020 differential privacy implementation.
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John Abowd highlights better U.S. Census products

In the News

Media Mentions

How Reliable is Economic Data?

Goldman Sachs Exchanges
On this podcast episode, Erica Groshen, ILR senior labor market advisor and former Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner, discusses the why and how of jobs report revisions by the bureau and the reliability of the data.
How Reliable is Economic Data?

The quit rate crash: Why workers are staying put

Money Talks News
Erica Groshen, ILR senior labor market advisor, comments on the possible meaning of wages growing more for job-stayers than job switchers.
The quit rate crash: Why workers are staying put

Economists Discuss Importance of Reliable Government Data

C-SPAN
On this video, Erica Groshen, ILR senior labor market advisor and former Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner, discusses several topics related to the bureau, including budget and staffing, what might happen if someone tried to alter the data to support political ends, and the importance of reliable government statistical data.
Economists Discuss Importance of Reliable Government Data