PhD in the field of Export upgrading and economic growth (1.0 FTE) (V24.0245)

Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has enjoyed an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative center of higher education offering high-quality teaching and research. Belonging to the best research universities of Europe and joining forces with prestigious partner universities and networks, the University of Groningen is truly an international place of knowledge.

Faculty of Economics and Business
The Faculty of Economics and Business offers an inspiring study and working environment for students and employees. International accreditation enables the Faculty to assess performance against the highest international standards. It also creates an exciting environment of continuous improvement. FEB's programmes, academic staff and research do well on various excellence ranking lists.
FEBRI, the graduate school and research institute of the Faculty of Economics and Business has available one PhD position in the field of “Export upgrading and economic growth” available.

Project description
Economic development is positively related to exporting more complex products. At the same time, richer countries also export higher-quality versions of any product. Researchers have extensively studied each dimension: across products and quality within products. Yet, it is unclear how these two dimensions interact with each other.

In this project, you will contribute to the estimation of export quality and export complexity, analyse the relationship between the two, and explore how both dimensions link to macroeconomic development. You will be part of a larger research program on the empirics of economic growth that regularly collaborates with international development organizations.

The PhD position is embedded in the “Global Economics & Management” department of FEB’s Research Institute. The project will be supervised by Konstantin M. Wacker and Tristan Kohl.

The ideal candidate is ambitious, highly motivated and wishes to make a career in research. You have a thorough training in research skills, speaks and writes English fluently and has obtained excellent results in the Master phase.
The PhD candidate should have a background (MSc, Research Master) in Economics or Econometrics, preferably with a specialization in international economics and/or development economics. Familiarity with STATA or similar software packages is required; experience in managing large or complex data sets is an advantage.

We offer you in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:

• a gross monthly salary from a minimum of € 2,770 which increases yearly to a maximum of € 3,539
• an additional 8% holiday allowance each year in May, and an additional 8.3 % end of year bonus in December
• a temporary full-time appointment for a period of four years, under the condition of a positive assessment at the end of the first year. PhD candidates contribute 20% of their time to teaching in years 2-4.

Starting date: Preferably per 1 September 2024

The application package consists of the following separate documents:

• your CV
• a motivation letter (1A4 max) combined with a short proposal how you would address the above project in the context of your PhD project (2 A4 max)
• a scan of your diploma including transcripts
• proof of English proficiency
• a completed/draft thesis or a similar example of research output.

The documents 1-4 are compulsory and please note that incomplete application packages will not be taken into account.

You may apply for this position until 19 May 11:59pm / before 20 May 2024 Dutch local time (CEST) by means of the application form (click on "Apply" below on the advertisement on the university website).

An assessment may be part of the procedure, consisting of psychological tests, a coding exercise, and an interview.

The University of Groningen strives to be a university in which students and staff are respected and feel at home, regardless of differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and identities. We believe that working on our core values of inclusion and equality are a joint responsibility and we are constructively working on creating a socially safe environment. Diversity among students and staff members enriches academic debate and contributes to the quality of our teaching and research. We therefore invite applicants from underrepresented groups in particular to apply. For more information, see also our diversity policy webpage: https://www.rug.nl/about-ug/policy-and-strategy/diversity-and-inclusion/

Our selection procedure follows the guidelines of the Recruitment code (NVP): https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/nl/sollicitatiecode and European Commission's European Code of Conduct for recruitment of researchers: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code

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