PHD RESEARCH POSITION ECONOMICS OF EDUCATION

(ref. BAP-2020-353)

Last modification : Wednesday, May 27, 2020

LEER is a research and education center of the Faculty of Economics and Business of the KU Leuven. We aim for independent state-of-the-art academic research on educational issues with economic tools (see www.feb.kuleuven.be/leer).

Project

The human capital theory predicts that more educated persons tend to earn higher wages. Moreover, as lifelong learning becomes increasingly important, a growing number of individuals does not stop studying after the initial graduation, but pursues degrees in higher education. This PhD research project studies the heterogeneous impact of higher education on health, crime and the labour market. To do so, the PhD researcher has unique and rich (administrative) data that can be analyzed.

Besides its policy relevance for lifelong learning, the question is academically relevant as the conventional practice in the literature to measure the returns to schooling is to consider education as a continuous variable measuring the number of years of schooling and ignores the role of studies later in life. Exploiting policy changes, this PhD project will fill this gap.

Profile

The Research Center ‘Leuven Economics of Education Research’ (KU Leuven) is looking for an enthusiastic and motivated junior scholar to conduct a PhD in economics. The candidate should have the following qualifications:

• You hold an EU MSc degree in Economics, Business Economics, Commercial Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mathematics, or similar.
• Having at least ‘cum laude’ during master years.
• You have strong skills in statistical, econometric and quantitative data analysis and experience with statistical packages; and are keen on developing these skills further.
• Enthusiastic and motivated to do research.
• You are proficient in English; your knowledge of Dutch might be an advantage.
• You have very good scientific writing skills.
• You are a team player who is able to work independently.
• Successful candidates are required to enter the PhD program in economics of the Faculty of Economics and Business of KU Leuven (see https://feb.kuleuven.be/research/PhD/PhD). Tupplement your previous studies, the candidate is required to take on an individual “doctum colloquium” consisting of courses from the Master of Science in Advanced Studies in Economics. Students who have obtained a Master of Science in Advanced Studies in Economics degree from KU Leuven with honors or higher will be exempted from this doctum colloquium.

Offer

• The candidate is expected to prepare a PhD at the LEER research group under the supervision of Professor Kristof De Witte. 
• We offer a competitive full-time PhD scholarship. The position is for 4 years, conditional upon a positive evaluation after 1 year.
• We offer additional benefits in terms of health insurance, reduced public transport prices, free bicycle use, access to university sports facilities, …
• KU Leuven offers opportunities to follow academic, skills and career training courses.
• Working in an attractive international environment.
• You are expected to participate in seminars and will occasionally be involved in teaching activities including supervision of exams.
• Start date – October 1, 2020. 
• Once the PhD study is completed, you receive a PhD in Economics.

Interested?  To apply for the position, please prepare the following documents:

•    A curriculum vitae
•    An overview of your study results (certified copies of diplomas and transcripts).
•    A letter of motivation (max. 500 words): all applicants must provide a letter of motivation.

Interested?

For more information please contact Prof. dr. Kristof De Witte, tel.: +32 16 32 66 56, mail: kristof.dewitte@kuleuven.be.

You can apply for this job no later than June 20, 2020 via the online application tool

KU Leuven seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support, please contact us at diversiteit.HR@kuleuven.be.