PhD in Welfare State Transformation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Do you want to pursue a PhD in Political Science on how AI is reshaping jobs, inequality, and social protection? In this project, you will research how politics and welfare institutions influence AI-driven labor market disruption.

PhD in Welfare State Transformation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Your function

This fully funded four-year PhD position is part of an ERC Starting Grant ‘(Re)distributive Politics after the AI Revolution (REPAIR)’ funded by the European Research Council and led by Dr. Juliana Chueri at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

The broader ERC project examines how welfare state institutions and welfare politics shape political and societal responses to AI-driven labor market transformation across OECD countries. Moving beyond techno-deterministic perspectives, the project emphasizes the active role of political institutions, policies, and collective choices in shaping how AI affects work, employment, and social protection.

The project is structured around four interlinked objectives:

1. to analyze how different welfare state and labor market regimes are affected by AI-driven automation
2. to map how political actors frame AI and articulate policy responses across countries
3. to examine public support for alternative welfare and labor market reforms in response to AI
4. to develop a new theoretical understanding of welfare state adaptation and transformation in the age of artificial intelligence

The PhD project

The PhD project will primarily contribute to Objectives 1 and 4, with a focus on welfare state institutions, labor market regulation, and long-term transformation of the welfare state.

Adopting a forward-looking perspective, your research will examine how welfare states adapt to labor market transformations driven by AI. This research will enable both empirical analysis and theoretical development of context-specific pathways of welfare state transition in an emerging AI society.

Specifically, the PhD research will analyze how welfare state and labor market institutions mediate countries’ social exposure to AI-driven automation. This includes examining how institutions may:

• shape firms’ incentives to adopt labor-replacing technologies
• mitigate social risks for workers displaced by automation
• support reskilling, retraining, and labor market transitions
• condition longer-term pathways of welfare state recalibration and transformation

The project will involve the development of comparative indicators or typologies of countries, combined with in-depth institutional analysis. Methodologically, the PhD project will employ a mixed-methods approach, combining comparative institutional analysis, quantitative cross-national data analysis, and qualitative case studies.

Your duties

As a PhD candidate, you will complete a cumulative PhD dissertation within four years, consisting of four publishable journal articles. Working closely with your supervisory team, led by Dr. Juliana Chueri, and in collaboration with the ERC research team, which includes another PhD candidate and a postdoctoral researcher, you will play an integral role in advancing Objectives 1 and 4 of the ERC project.

As part of your PhD, you will contribute to the development of an international comparative database capturing countries’ social exposure to AI-driven labor market change. You will conduct quantitative cross-national analyses using this dataset to construct a typology of welfare states and to identify ideal-type cases for in-depth institutional analysis.

You will actively participate in the intellectual life of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, present your work at international conferences and workshops, contribute to collaborative research activities within the project, and have the opportunity to undertake research stays abroad within the project’s international network of collaborators.

Your profile

We are looking for a PhD candidate who:

• has obtained a (research) Master’s degree in Political Science, Sociology, or a closely related field
• has a strong interest in welfare state institutions, labor market regulation, and welfare state reform and transformation
• is familiar with institutional and political economy theories
• has experience with qualitative research and comparative research design
• is comfortable with quantitative analysis (e.g., experience with R) and motivated to develop these skills further
• possesses excellent academic writing skills in English
• works independently and responsibly, while also collaborating well with colleagues
• is communicative, open-minded, and engaged in interdisciplinary research environments

We realise that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise and mindset. Therefore we are happy to invite anyone who recognises themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not meet all the requirements.

What do we offer?

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 € 3.059,00 (PhD) and maximum € 3.881,00 (PhD) gross per month in the fourth year, for a full-time employment
• an employment contract of initially 1 year. If there is sufficient perspective, this will be extended to a total of 4 years. Your dissertation at the end of the fourth year forms the end of your employment contract

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and arrangements. 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
• optional model for designing a personalized benefits package
• contribution to commuting expenses
• a wide range of sports facilities which staff may use at a modest charge

Department of Political Science and Public Administration

The Department of Political Science and Public Administration is committed to high quality academic education and research.