The Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) seeks applications for a position as

Doctoral Researcher (Political Economy; Economics of Populism)

in its research area “International Finance and Global Governance”. The starting date is flexible, but should be no later than early fall 2018.

You would become part of a young, dynamic and international research group focusing on topics in international finance (e.g. sovereign debt, financial crises, cross-border capital flows) and on the political challenges of a globalized world (e.g. international financial architecture, political costs of crises, populism). Much of our research is empirical and takes a long-run perspective.

The doctoral student will join the third-party project “Populism and economic upheavals since 1870”. Our research agenda in this project is ambitious, as we aim to create a new cross-country dataset on populist voting over the past 140 years and use this to explore the economic determinants and consequences of populism rigorously (focusing on the role of inequality, financial crises, and globalization).

We are looking for a candidate who meets the following criteria:

• Master’s degree (completed or close to completion) in economics, political science (with a strong quantitative focus), or a related field

• Excellent academic record and very good grades

• Experience and interest in the research topics of our group, in particular political economy

• Very good knowledge in statistics and econometrics and experience in using statistical software such as Stata or R

• Very good English language skills required. German language skills are desirable but not necessary

• Good knowledge in data management and coding is desirable, as is previous work experience in empirical research (e.g. as a research assistant)

• Willingness and commitment to work on papers to be submitted to leading international journals and ambition to complete a very good dissertation

The contract is initially limited to 3 years according to the law on limited employment contracts in research (WissZeitVG), but an extension is possible. The salary is based on the German public sector pay scale (EG 13 TV-L) with 75% of a full-time position (currently 29,025 weekly working hours).

The Kiel Institute is an equal opportunity employer with a certified family-friendly policy (http://www.ifw-kiel.de/about-us/equal-opportunity-at-the-kiel-institute/). We promote the professional opportunities of women and strongly encourage them to apply. Women with equivalent qualifications, competence and expertise will be given preference. We are committed to employing persons with recognized disabilities and will therefore give them preference over persons without disabilities if they are equally qualified.

Please submit your application online, using your family name as the file name including a letter of interest, your CV, academic transcripts, as well as proofs of relevant work experience (ID-No. “PhD_PolEcon”) to https://www.ifw-kiel.de/about-us/job-vacancies/Application_Form. Please list the names of two potential referees in your CV (e.g. your thesis advisor or work supervisors).

The deadline for applications is April 20, 2018. For questions regarding this position please contact Prof. Dr. Christoph Trebesch () or Dr. Manuel Funke ().