Environmental Economics: Political Economy and/or Environmental Impact of Mining

Environmental Economics: Political Economy and/or Environmental Impact of Mining

A Postdoctoral Fellow position is available at the department of Spatial Economics of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam starting from Spring/Summer 2025. Are you interested? Please apply at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Jouw functie

Background and scope of the research

Industrial raw materials such as copper, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements are critical inputs in countless production processes, including renewable energy, lithium batteries, and other inputs supporting the green transition. Many developing countries simply export raw materials while most value added is generated in advanced economies, which lowers global consumer prices but does little to reduce poverty and global inequality. Many countries therefore started to voluntarily restrict raw material exports, often to promote local processing industries. Does that put them on a path to prosperity, and what are the implications for trade, global value chains, and the energy transition?

The post-doc joins an international team of three professors (VU, Erasmus Rotterdam, NHH Bergen) and a PhD student (VU). The subproject that is to be the main focus of the post-doc position is either the political economy of industrial policy, such as how voluntary export restrictions are created, designed, and implemented, including travel to Indonesia for possible qualitative research, or studying the environmental impact of mining in Indonesia. Development of other related research is encouraged.

Your tasks

• Review the literature on the political economy of industrial policy.
• Conduct quantitative on, and/or qualitative research in, Indonesia.
• Contribute to high-quality research paper in cooperation with project team members.
• Present research-in-progress at workshops/conferences.

Jouw profiel

The potential candidate should:

• have a Ph.D. in economics, or a related discipline.
• have up-to-date knowledge on the latest quantitative and/or qualitative research methods aimed at identifying causal effects.
• have high academic writing skills and ability to publish in the leading academic journals.
• be able to collaborate in groups as well as work individually.
• be proficient in written and spoken English; working knowledge of Bahasa Melayu/Indonesia is recommended.

Wat bieden wij

A challenging position in a socially engaged organisation. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. And that is valuable. So in return for your efforts, we offer you:

• a salary of minimum € 3.378,00 (Scale 10) and maximum € 5.331,00 (Scale 10) gross per month, on a full-time basis. This is based on UFO profile Researcher 4. The exact salary depends on your education and experience.
• a position for at least 0.8 FTE. We offer a temporary contract for the duration of one year.

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, this is calculated pro rata.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• contribution to commuting expenses
• solid pension scheme (ABP)
• a wide range of sports facilities which staff may use at a modest charge

Over ons

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.

Collaboration and cooperation, transparency and social responsibility are four keywords that embody our approach. Students, researchers and staff at SBE share real-world knowledge in order to devise solutions together to global economic and social challenges. In order to make a positive impact on the world, society and the lives of others.

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.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam stands for values-driven education and research. We are open-minded experts with the ability to think freely - a broader mind. Maintaining an entrepreneurial perspective and concentrating on diversity, significance and humanity, we work on sustainable solutions with social impact. By joining forces, across the boundaries of disciplines, we work towards a better world for people and planet. Together we create a safe and respectful working and study climate, and an inspiring environment for education and research.

We are located on one physical campus, in the heart of Amsterdam's Zuidas business district, with excellent location and accessibility. Over 6,150 staff work at the VU and over 31,000 students attend academic education.

Diversity
Diversity is the driving force of VU Amsterdam. VU wants to be accessible and receptive to diversity in disciplines, cultures, ideas, nationalities, beliefs, preferences and worldviews. We believe that trust, respect, interest and differences lead to new insights and innovation, to sharpness and clarity, to excellence and a broader understanding.

We stand for an inclusive community and believe that diversity and internationalisation contribute to the quality of education, research and our services.