DOCTORAL RESEARCH POSITION IN AGRICULTURAL AND DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS

(ref. BAP-2022-529)

Laatst aangepast : 15/07/2022

The Division of Bio-Economics aims at understanding and shaping economic decision-making by private and public agents to support the development of more sustainable agricultural and food systems, and to promote ecosystem services and values. We engage in applied empirical economic research in agricultural, foo and natural resource economics; and our disciplinary approach provides a strong basis for multi- and interdisciplinary collaborative research on sustainable agricultural and food systems. Our division has solid expertise in survey-based and experimental economic research in various countries across the globe, and maintains a research infrastructure of survey databases and tools. We provide research-based academic education in the field of agricultural, food and natural resource economics. This is a a PhD position in the research group Agricultural and Development Economics, headed by Prof. dr. Ir. Miet Maertens at the Division of Bio-Economics, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering.

Project

You will be supervised by Prof.  dr. Ir. Miet Maertens and Prof. dr. Ir. Liesbet Vranken. In collaboration with your promotors, you will carry out micro-economic research on the process of rural development in Africa. In particular, you will develop a PhD research proposal that relates to rural labour market development and migration, to sustainable agricultural intensification, and/or to food and energy security and female empowerment at the household level. You will study these topics using primary survey data from rural households in Southern Ethiopia and secondary household survey data from other African countries. You will collaborate within the VLIR Interuniversity Cooperation Programme between KU Leuven and Arba Minch University in Ethiopia, and within an intercultural research team to design, prepare and execute a third round of a comprehensive household survey in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ region. You will use quantitative state-of-the-art econometric techniques to analyse survey data.   

You will conduct a PhD at the Arenberg Doctoral School (ADS) – for more information on the ADS PhD program see https://set.kuleuven.be/phd.

Profile

• You hold an EU MSc degree in Bioscience Engineering, Agricultural Economics, Development Economics, Natural Resources Economics or another relevant field of Applied Economics or Bioscience Engineering and having obtained at least a distinction (cum laude) – or an equivalent degree of higher education.
• You have a keen interest in scientific research on rural transformation and economic development, and more generally in the research topics of the Division of Bio-economics (www.ees.kuleuven.be/bioecon) 
• You are proficient in English; your knowledge of French and/or Dutch might be an advantage
• You have (starter) skills in statistical, econometric and quantitative data analysis and (some)  experience with statistical packages; and are keen on developing these skills further. 
• Your experience with field research in a developing countries and/or experience with household or farm-survey data collection and/or analysis is an advantage
• You are flexible to travel abroad for field research, data collection, meetings, workshops or conferences.
• You are in general a flexible, dynamic and sociable person; you are persistent and problem-solving oriented; you are able to work independently as well as in a team; and you are interested to work in a multi-cultural environment. 

Offer

• A competitive full-time PhD scholarship (salary scale 43)
• We offer a full-time position, initially for one year, which can be prolonged up to 4 years after a positive evaluation.
• Additional benefits in terms of health insurance, reduced public transport prices, free bicycle use, access to university sports facilities, child care opportunities, …. 
• The possibility to follow academic, thematic and skills training courses at KU Leuven   
• A dynamic and multi-cultural work environment
• Participation in a collaborative international research project
• Participation in scientific and policy-oriented congresses, seminars and workshops. 
• Candidates will be supported to apply for an FWO grant.

Interested?

For more information please contact Prof. dr. ir. Miet Maertens, tel.: +32 16 32 65 36, mail: [email protected].

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 [email protected].