Since its foundation in 1614, the University of Groningen has enjoyed an international reputation as a dynamic and innovative center of higher education offering high-quality teaching and research. Belonging to the best research universities of Europe and joining forces with prestigious partner universities and networks, the University of Groningen is truly an international place of knowledge.

Faculty of Economics and Business
The Faculty of Economics and Business offers an inspiring study and working environment for students and employees. International accreditation enables the Faculty to assess performance against the highest international standards. It also creates an exciting environment of continuous improvement. FEB's programmes, academic staff and research do well on various excellence ranking lists.
FEBRI, the graduate school and research institute of the Faculty of Economics and Business has one PhD position available in the field of Risk, Reward, and Regulation: A Novel Model for Understanding and Managing Risks in the Insurance Sector

Project description
In this project, we study a comprehensive model designed to optimize an insurance company's asset value function, considering asset withdrawals and capital injections, all of which are strategically guided by a predetermined threshold. Our primary goal is to explore and illuminate the intricate link between this optimal threshold and the risk-taking behaviors prevalent in insurance firms, behaviors that can potentially lead to insufficient capital buffers. Through this investigation, we aim to expose potential sector vulnerabilities, thereby providing invaluable input for regulatory structures such as Solvency II, with a view to ultimately bolstering the overall resilience of the global insurance industry.

The PhD position is embedded in the research programme EEF of FEB’s Research Institute. The project will be supervised by Dr Wei (Rock) Zhu, Dr Daniël Vullings and Prof Ruud Koning.

The ideal candidate is ambitious, highly motivated and wishes to make a career in research. He or she has a thorough training in research skills, speaks and writes English fluently and has obtained excellent results in the Master phase.
The PhD candidate should have a background (Master of Science, Research Master, MPhil) in Mathematics, Quantitative Economics, Actuarial Science, Financial Mathematics or Econometrics.

Fixed-term contract: 48 months.

We offer you in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:

- a starting salary of € 2,541, which increases yearly to a maximum of € 3,247 gross per month
- based on the gross salary you will receive an additional 8% holiday allowance each year in May, and an additional 8.3 % end of year bonus in December
- a temporary full-time appointment for a period of four years, under the condition of a positive assessment at the end of the first year

Starting date: Preferably per 1 September 2023

An assessment may be part of the procedure, consisting of psychological tests and an interview.