PhD Special Call: Labor Economics

Aarhus BSS Graduate School, Aarhus University invites applicants for a PhD Scholarship in connection with the research project PhD in Labor Economics at the PhD Programme Economics and Business Economics.

The position is available from 1 September 2024.

The research project

Inequality, and the widening gap between rich and poor within developed countries, is a concern for society and should be addressed by policy makers (Mayhew and Wills, 2019). Income inequality depends both on the income shares of labor and capital and on wage dispersion. One key factor explaining inequality is lack of competition and monopoly power, both in the goods market and in the labor market. In this project, we focus on lack of competition in the labor market and how it can lead to observing similar workers earning different wages at different firms. It is not controversial that many aspects of labor markets are inherently imperfectly competitive: Either workers or firms can gain a rent from an existing employment relationship (Manning, 2010). These rents can come from two sources: The first is heterogeneity of workers (skills or preferences) and firms (productivity and non-wage job amenities); this is

employer differentiation

. The second source is lack of competition due to market concentration, i.e., the presence of few employers that dominate the labor market and can strategically interact to set wages below the marginal product of labor,

employer concentration

. The aim of this project is to contribute to the frontier of the growing literature incorporating different sources of market power in economic models of the labor market by developing new empirical methodologies to allow researchers to measure labor market power and its impact on income inequality. In the project, we combine theoretical models of the labor market and sophisticated quantitative methods

using the Danish administrative registers and novel geographical data.

Further information

The research group for the project consists of researchers in Economics in Denmark, Canada, the US, and France. If you are interested in the position and want to know more, please contact Elena Mattana (

[email protected]

) to learn more about the project.

If you need help uploading your application or have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR supporter Ulla Prisholm Bjørn Email: [email protected]

Place of work

Fuglesangs Allé 4, 8210 Aarhus V

Formal requirements

You can read more about how to apply in

the application guide

and find the rules and regulations of the PhD education

here

.

The following criteria are decisive in the assessment of the candidates:

• the applicant’s academic qualifications (assessed on the basis of the qualifying degree)
• the quality and relevance of the project proposal
• the applicant’s level of academic aptitude and assessed ability to complete the project within the framework of the PhD programme

You can read more about the assessment procedure and committees appointed by the dean

here

. Please note that for applications to the programme for Psychology and Behavioural Science, the criteria for assessment are specified

here

.

Applicants are very much encouraged to supply documentation as to how they rank compared to their class (both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees). This may for example be in the form of a letter from your University stating either how you rank as an individual student compared to other students the year you graduated ("ranks as no. 6 out of 111" or "ranks as among the best 8 percent") or if that is not possible, general information from your University as to how grades were distributed in the year of your graduation, will be appreciated.

Please note that Aarhus BSS Graduate School reserves the right to evaluate the applications on the basis of the documentation received before deadline, and you will not necessarily be asked for further documentation. Furthermore, Aarhus BSS Graduate School reserves the right to reject application that do not comply with the limitations as stated in the application guide (see link above).

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.