The Chair of Applied Macroeconomics, associated with the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at ETH Zurich and part of the Department of Management, Technology and Economics (D-MTEC), invites applications for one or more PhD positions in Applied Macroeconomics and Political Economy. The positions are based at KOF and affiliated with the Chair of Applied Macroeconomics. Doctoral researchers will join a supportive and collaborative research environment focused on empirical research and policy-relevant questions in macroeconomics, international economics, public finance and political economy. One position is particularly suited to applicants interested in taxation in a globalized economy, including topics such as multinational profit shifting, tax havens, labour-market effects of tax competition, the design and political economy of international tax rules, and the macroeconomic and distributional consequences of international taxation.
Tasks
- Developing a dissertation in applied macroeconomics, public finance and/or political economy with support and guidance from the supervisory team
- Progressively taking ownership of research projects and using econometric methods and relevant macroeconomic and/or microeconomic data to address academic and policy-relevant questions
- Developing research questions and research designs and contributing to original academic papers
- Collecting, documenting and analysing datasets, which may include firm-level, country-level, geospatial, administrative, survey or text data
- Discussing and presenting research at internal seminars, academic workshops and international conferences
- Participating in the research activities of the Chair and KOF, including regular research meetings and seminars
- Completing coursework within the D-MTEC doctoral programme
- Depending on interests and the needs of the Chair, contributing to teaching activities in a limited capacity
Requirements
- A Master’s degree in Economics or a closely related field, completed by the time the position begins
- An interest in empirical research addressing relevant economic and public-policy questions
- An interest in applied macroeconomics, international economics, public finance and/or political economy
- A sound foundation in econometrics, statistics and quantitative analysis
- Experience with at least one statistical programming language, such as Stata, R or Python, and openness to learning additional tools
- The ability to communicate ideas clearly in written and spoken English
- An interest in contributing to a collaborative research environment while developing the ability to plan and conduct own research
- Applicants with a quantitative background in statistics, data science, political science, public policy or finance are also welcome, provided they have sufficient training in economics
- Depending on the position and proposed research area, experience or interests in panel-data methods, causal inference, time-series econometrics or the analysis of large microeconomic datasets are useful
- Experience or interests in international taxation, tax competition, tax havens, fiscal federalism or the political economy of tax policy are useful
- An interest in developing a research-oriented career within or outside academia
- Knowledge of German is welcome but not required
Benefits
- The opportunity to pursue a PhD at ETH Zurich and the KOF Swiss Economic Institute in an engaging and collaborative research environment
- KOF is Switzerland’s leading academic institute for applied economic research and provides independent data, analysis and assessments for politics, business and society
- As a doctoral researcher at KOF, you will become part of a broad community of economic researchers
- Opportunities to exchange ideas with colleagues working across different areas of economics and participate in seminars, workshops and conferences in Zurich and beyond
- Opportunities to engage with international visitors, present research and gradually develop your own academic profile
- ETH Zurich offers internationally competitive employment conditions
- The starting date is negotiable
- The position is initially offered for 18 months, with the prospect of extension for the normal four- to five-year duration of the doctorate, subject to satisfactory progress
- The gross salary will be determined according to ETH Zurich regulations
Bist du Teil dieses Unternehmens?
Dieses Unternehmensprofil wurde automatisch erstellt. Wenn du für ETH Zürich arbeitest, kannst du das Profil jetzt beanspruchen und verifizieren – kostenlos und in wenigen Minuten.
Über uns
Das Team
The Chair of Applied Macroeconomics offers a supportive and collaborative research environment where people share ideas, learn from one another and treat each other with respect. The PhD will be supervised by Prof. Dr. Jan-Egbert Sturm and, depending on the research topic, Dr. Enea Baselgia. The team is committed to increasing diversity in economics and supporting the careers of women and people from groups underrepresented in the discipline.