The Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) is inviting applications for the following positions:
Junior Researchers (Ph.D. students) in Economics
especially Technology and Growth, International
Finance, and Development
especially International Trade
The successful candidates will join our “Africa Initiative” and conduct research on African economies.
You will closely collaborate with junior and senior researchers across the different research centers at
the Kiel Institute as well as our external project partners. Our research agenda focuses on economic
and business development in Africa, sovereign debt and default in Africa, and Africa’s global economic
linkages. All projects will contribute to evidence-based policy advice.
The doctoral students will initially receive a three-year, renewable, fixed term contract. They will
become part of the research centers “Innovation and International Competition,” “International
Finance and Macroeconomics,” and “International Development,” respectively. Candidates should
hold (or be close to completing) a Master’s degree or equivalent in economics or a closely related field
(e.g., quantitative social sciences, econometrics). They should have excellent knowledge of statistics,
econometrics, experience in relevant software (e.g., R and/or Stata), and be interested in applying these
skills to conduct economics research on Africa. Previous knowledge of the abovementioned topics is an
advantage but not mandatory. The working language in research at the Kiel Institute is English; excellent
English skills are therefore required. Knowledge of German would be helpful but it is not required. The
Kiel Institute provides excellent support to those interested in a career in research or policy consulting.
The positions will be based in Kiel. The contract is initially limited to 3 years (with the next possible
starting date) according to the law on limited employment contracts in research (WissZeitVG). The
salary is based on the German public sector pay scale (EG 13 TV-L, 75% FTE, currently 29,025 weekly
working hours). For doctoral students, the Kiel Institute usually offers - if necessary – contract extensions
to finish the dissertation within a maximum of four years. Ph.D. students will be expected to pursue a
doctoral degree in economics. Kiel University runs a well-established Ph.D. program in “Quantitative
Economics” (
https://www.quantitative-economics.uni-kiel.de/en) that junior researchers at the Kiel
Institute may join.
The Kiel Institute is an
equal opportunity employer with a certified family-friendly policy. We promote
the professional opportunities of women and strongly encourage them to apply. Women with equivalent
qualifications, competence, and expertise will be given preference. We are committed to employing
persons with recognized disabilities and will therefore give them preference over persons without
disabilities if they are equally qualified.
Please submit your application
online by
5th of May 2021 including a cover letter describing why you
are interested in the position, your CV, transcripts of your academic record, an academic writing sample,
and one or two references, using your family name as the file name (ID-No.
“03_21_Africa”). Letters of
reference may also be e-mailed under separate cover to
applications@ifw-kiel.de. Application photos
should not be included.
For additional information on the position, please contact Rainer Thiele:
rainer.thiele@ifw-kiel.de, +49
431 8814 215, Christoph Trebesch:
christoph.trebesch@ifw-kiel.de, Dirk Dohse:
dirk.dohse@ifw-kiel.de,
or Tobias Heidland:
tobias.heidland@ifw-kiel.de.