Applied Economics & Finance Benchmark Specialist

$77–98/hrrate as listed

Write and verify graduate-level multiple-choice questions in economics and finance — each with one correct answer, nine subtly wrong distractors, a step-by-step solution, and academic citations. Work is asynchronous and fully remote, with an expected commitment of 10+ hours per week at an observed rate of $77–98/hr.

Summary, eligibility guidance and screening preparation are prepared by Sidequest from the platform's posting. Check the source listing before applying.

The work

Mercor is building gold-standard benchmark sets for economics and finance, and this quest puts you on one of two tracks. On the authoring track, you design original questions in your subdomain — Algorithmic Trading & Market Microstructure, Macroprudential Policy, Behavioral Finance & Experimental Economics, Urban Economics, or Tokenomics & DeFi — that test conceptual reasoning rather than definitional recall. Each item needs a self-contained problem statement, one defensible correct answer, nine plausible distractors that a strong solver could actually fall for, a Chain-of-Thought solution in markdown, a difficulty rating (Medium / Hard / Expert), and one to five references from peer-reviewed journals or university repositories.

On the verification track, you review items written by other experts. The judgment work is narrower but sharper: is the question solvable as written, is exactly one option correct, is any needed assumption missing, and does the stated difficulty match reality? You edit where you can, flag where you can't, and document your reasoning. Reviewers who simply approve everything are usually filtered out quickly.

What the screen looks for

The intake is AI-led and follow-up heavy. Expect it to verify your credential (PhD or doctoral candidate in economics, finance, or adjacent; strong master's-level candidates with real subdomain depth are considered), then push on a named area of expertise until the questions get genuinely technical. It also probes evaluation judgment — whether you can articulate why a distractor is pedagogically useful versus merely wrong, and whether you can spot ambiguity in a prompt you didn't write. Clear, compact written English matters here as much as domain knowledge; the deliverable is prose.

Logistics

Fully remote and asynchronous; no fixed meetings or shift windows.
Expected commitment of 10+ hours/week, self-scheduled.
Pay band observed at $77–98/hr; actual rate depends on track, subdomain, and calibration outcomes, and is not guaranteed.
Output is reviewed, and continued work typically depends on acceptance rates on your first batches.

What they look for

PhD or doctoral candidate in Economics, Finance, or a closely related field
Graduate-level command of economic theory, econometrics, and financial modeling
Demonstrable depth in at least one listed subdomain (market microstructure, macroprudential policy, behavioral/experimental, urban economics, or tokenomics/DeFi)
Ability to write precise, self-contained problem statements and step-by-step solutions in markdown
Familiarity with academic sourcing — peer-reviewed journals and university repositories
CFA, CPA, or quantitative finance industry experience (strong plus)

Before you apply

Would you pass this screen?

Drawn from what this listing actually requires. Answered in your browser — nothing is sent to us, and we do not store your answers.

Do you hold a PhD in Economics, Finance, or a closely related field, or are you currently a doctoral candidate in one of these fields?
PhD or equivalent doctoral depth · required
Have you completed graduate-level coursework or research in quantitative methods (econometrics, mathematical economics, financial modeling, or statistics)?
Advanced quantitative competency · required
Do you have research experience, advanced coursework, or professional expertise in at least one of these five areas: Algorithmic Trading & Market Microstructure, Macroprudential Policy, Behavioral Finance & Experimental Economics, Urban Economics, or Tokenomics & Decentralized Finance?
Expertise in at least one listed domain · required
Do you have experience publishing academic research, holding a CFA or CPA certification, or working in a quantitative finance or economics role?
Academic or financial industry experience · preferred
Can you reliably commit 10 or more hours per week to this role for the duration of the engagement?
10+ hours weekly availability · required

0 of 5 answered

Included with this listing

Interview prep — 11 questions

Matched to what this platform's screening actually measures. Answer each out loud in 60–90 seconds: claim → concrete example → implication.

What it tests: Whether the candidate has genuinely worked at doctoral depth on real economic problems, not just passed exams. Can they articulate a research agenda, methodology, and results with precision?
A strong answer: Name a specific research project or advanced seminar, state the economic puzzle it tackled, explain the theoretical framework or empirical method used, and describe what you learned or contributed. Avoid vague references to 'many projects'; pick one and go deep.
Where people lose it: Listing coursework titles without showing you ever *did* research or solved an open-ended economic problem. Saying 'I studied macroeconomics' is not evidence of doctoral-level thinking; showing how you tested a hypothesis or extended a model is.