The research project WomEmpower, The Causal Effect of Motherhood, Gender Norms, and Cash Transfers to Women on Intimate Partner Violence funded by an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) and led by Professor Núria Rodríguez-Planas is recruiting up to two postdoctoral researchers with a PhD in Economics. The candidates should have a strong research record, with a focus on quantitative methods and a background in labor and/or health economics, social norms and behavioral decisions, and applied econometrics. Candidates from the broader social sciences with outstanding training and experience in quantitative social sciences and research interests in the fields mentioned above will also be considered. The workplace is at the Department of Economics of the School of Economics and Business at the University of Barcelona.

This is a one-year position starting as early as September 2025 with the possibility to extend it to a total of three years based on performance. This postdoc does not involve teaching and the salary conditions are competitive, especially for the Spanish labor market and living conditions (annual salary of 43,000 euros before taxes. Note that this is the salary the postdoc will earn before taxes, yet after the employer has already paid social security and other benefits. The postdoc cost to the employer is 60,000 euros). Benefits include paid annual leave, social insurance (including healthcare), flexible working hours, funds to attend workshops or seminars, and collecting large amounts of research data in the framework of the project.

The successful applicants will join a team producing cutting-edge research on applied economics, domestic violence, and crime regularly publishing their work in top international journals. They will work directly with Núria Rodríguez-Planas.

The research team includes senior researchers from the fields of Economics of Crime (Daniel Montolio), Health and Labor Economics (Judit Vall), Economic Geography and Public Economics (Elisabet Viladecans), and Political Economy (Pilar Sorribes). In addition, the research team has the following collaborators: Dan Anderberg (Royal Holloway, University of London), Sanna Bergvall (Gothenburg University), Resul Cesur (University of Connecticut), Jeffrey Grogger (University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy), Helmut Rainer (Universidad of Munich and Ifo Institute), Yolanda Rebollo-Sanz (Universidad Pablo Olavide), Jennifer Roff (City University of New York, CUNY), and David Simon (University of Connecticut).

Furthermore, the Department has a strong team of quantitative and rigorous researchers producing evidence-based research that guides public policy in the fields of Economics of Education, Health Economics, Labor Market, and Security Policies, including (in addition to the researchers mentioned above) Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela, Andreu Arenas, Anastasia Terskaya, and Cristina Belles-Obrero, among others.

The University of Barcelona has consistently achieved leading positions in numerous academic rankings in the fields of Economics, Social Sciences, and overall, with a strong commitment to excellence in research. It enjoys a long tradition of teaching, offering both undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs in the fields of Economics and Business. In this framework, the UB School of Economics provides an important platform for research and graduate education in Economics.

Your profile:

• PhD in Economics or a related field when starting the contract

• Strong research record, with a focus on empirical methods

• Proficiency in programming languages (R, Stata, Julia, Python)

• Strong communication skills, ability to integrate in and contribute to teamwork, high reliability, attention to detail,
  eagerness to learn, pro-active and responsible attitude, intellectual independence

• Excellent command of English (knowledge of Spanish or Catalan is not necessary)

Application instructions:

If interested email PI at ieb.calls@ub.edu to submit their applications. We will start looking at applications in January 2025 until positions are filled.

Submitted applications must include:

• Motivation letter describing the applicant’s own research interests and how their research experience
  fits within the WomEmpower project

• Full CV

• Two writing samples (articles, thesis chapters or manuscripts)

• Three reference letters

Former postdoctoral researchers' placement: 

• Assistant Professor position on tenure track at the Departament d’Economia i Història Econòmica, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. 

Email inquiries should be directed to: nrodriguezplanas@gmail.com