PhD position in Economics, specializing in Family economics and economics of migration using historical data
The LEM (UMR 9221), a research unit of the University of Lille, invites applications for a 3-years, fully funded Phd position in Economics, with the emphasis on the Economics of the Family and Economics of migration, starting in September 2024.
Research
The PhD student will write a PhD thesis in the context of recent ANR project on “Families, Migration and Long-run economic growth in Europe” (FaMiGrowth). The general objective of the project is to analyse the interdependence of individual decisions regarding family formation and migration. Despite the considerable work on migration and families by historians and demographers (e.g. Green, 2002), we do not yet have a systematic economic analysis of how location and family-formation decisions are related at the microeconomic level and what these interactions imply for economic development. In particular, we lack a clear understanding of how households members’ decisions to migrate in search of better economic opportunities depend on the ‘stage of family formation in which they are, how these decisions were shaped by the major economic and social transformations that Europe experienced since the mid-17th century, and how family formation and migration decisions contributed to economic growth and development in Western Europe over the last three centuries. The candidate is expected to contribute specifically to Work Package 2 on interactions between family formation and migration. This work package will exploit the richness of the European Historical Family Database (EHFS), a novel dataset based on crowdsourced genealogical sources that allows to follow individuals and families across generations, and to study the migration of families during three centuries of European history. Under the guidance of the supervisors, the candidate will be analysing the historical determinants of family formation decisions. To this purpose, the student will select suitable shocks taking place in Europe history (e.g. in the agricultural sector, pandemics, wars, resource, trade or technological), and will assess how these shocks affected fertility and marriage.
Qualifications
- A Master’s degree in economics or econometrics.
- Sound knowledge of economics and econometrics, especially of the economics of migration, international economics, regional economics and micro-econometrics.
- Command of written and spoken English. The research will be carried out in English.
- High level of team-spirit and cooperative attitude.
- Experience with econometric software such as STATA, R or Python will be an important asset.
Working conditions
The successful candidate is expected to begin his/her assignment in September 2024. The PhD student will work under the conditions of a research contract for 3 years. Salary conditions are in line with the French research system. The student will be based in Lille and will enjoy additional benefits, most notably access to University facilities. He/she will participate in the structured doctoral student training program run by the LEM and the Doctoral School SESAM.
Supervision of the PhD Candidate and the Research team
The PhD student will be supervised by Prof.s Thomas Baudin and Simone Moriconi. The candidate will also benefit from continuous interactions with members of the IFLAME Research Center and the “Economics and Financial Flows” axis of the LEM research unit.
Application procedure and deadline
Interested applicants should submit:
- their curriculum vitae,
- transcripts of marks at undergraduate (Bachelor’s) and postgraduate (Master’s) level,
- two letters of recommendation from their academic referees (with their contact details),
- a sample of previous research work (e.g. Bachelor’s or Master’s thesis),
- a motivation letter explaining the reasons for which he or she wishes to undertake a PhD in this area.
Please send these to Thomas Baudin and Simone Moriconi (t.baudin@ieseg.fr and s.moriconi@ieseg.fr) before 30th April 2024.
Key Dates and expected timeline of the selection process:
– Deadline for sending complete applications: April 30th, 2024, 23h59
– Pre-selection of application files with an interview: May, 2024
– Final interview by the Doctoral School: May/June 2024
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