PhD position on Behavioral, Environmental and/or Development Economics

This PhD position contributes to the project “Fostering Sustainable Development with Artificial Intelligence”.

Your function

Are you a highly motivated student interested in doing research in behavioral economics with a focus on improving environmental and development outcomes for society? The Department of Spatial Economics at the School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam, seeks a PhD candidate in behavioral economics (environmental and/or development economics) who is interested in research at the intersection of behavioral, environmental and/or development economics for a 3-year fulltime position (20% teaching) starting September 2026 or September 2027.

You will conduct independent, high-quality research. The project, led by associate professor dr. Menusch Khadjavi, aims to improve our understanding of how artificial intelligence can foster sustainable development, for instance in the domains of education, farming, saving/investing, entrepreneurship and health, with a lot of scope for your own creativity and ideas. The project offers preferential use of Liseli Decision Lab, an online and offline participant pool in Zambia with thousands of participants. The research methods may include online, lab and field experiments, use of naturally occurring (i.e. census) data as well as theory building. Funding for field research and conference visits is available in consultation with the supervisor dr. Khadjavi. The setup of the project allows you to show and develop a variety of skills and write a job market paper which will enable you to be competitive on the academic job market.

This PhD position is a full-time position for a period of three years. You will spend 80% of your time on research and 20% on teaching (with teaching topics likely related to your research). The exact details of your schedule are determined in close consultation between you and your supervisors. Becoming an active member of and profiting from the scientific community at the Department of Spatial Economics, which offers internal research seminars, the Tinbergen Institute Spatial Economics Seminar and social events, is desirable. It is possible to work remotely part of the time but travelling to Amsterdam for meetings, teaching and department events is required. The school provides opportunities to attend conferences, go on an exchange, meet other international researchers, and participate in various training modules that support your knowledge and skills development.

Your profile

We are looking for candidates with one of the following profiles:

(a) Students who are in their second year of the research master and expect to graduate before September 2026. Those students would enter the position directly per September 2026 on a three-year contract with 20% teaching.

(b) Students who are in their first year of the research master and expect to graduate before September 2027. Ideally, we then tailor both the coursework and the thesis to the project to be optimally prepared for the PhD position.

Your tasks

• perform high-quality research at the intersection of behavioral, environmental and/or development economics
• assist in teaching activities
• be an active member of the Department of Spatial Economics

What do we offer?

An active, international and open research environment with a high international reputation in environmental, regional, urban and transportation economics. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world.

• a salary of minimum € 3.059,00 (PhD) and maximum € 3.881,00 (PhD) gross per month, on a full-time basis, based on UFO profile PhD candidate (exact salary depends on education and experience)
• a position for at least 1 FTE; the employment contract will initially last 1 year and, after a positive evaluation, will be extended with 2 years

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and regulations. Some examples:

• a full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year; if you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis (for part-timers, calculated pro rata)
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• contribution to commuting expenses
• optional model for designing a personalized benefits package
• a wide range of sports facilities which staff may use at a modest charge

About us

Department of Spatial Economics

The position is placed at the Department of Spatial Economics at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, one of the largest departments of its kind in the world. The department is engaged in economic problems in which space plays a prominent role. The academic staff (around 60 persons) address, in their research, urban, regional, transport and environmental challenges from a primarily economic perspective, combining theoretical research and empirical approaches, often enriched through multi-disciplinary collaborations.

School of Business and Economics

We at the School of Business and Economics (SBE) at VU Amsterdam bring together socially relevant teaching and research in the areas of business administration and economics. We focus on real-life issues that have a huge impact on society, economics and ecology: from robotics to big data, and from job market participation to change management.

Are you interested in joining SBE? You will work in a stimulating, dynamic and international environment with motivated colleagues dedicated to helping society make informed choices. SBE employs roughly 600 staff, with 7,250 students enrolled in the Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes and 1,700 executive students.