Job description

PhD-position

Many countries need to improve the energy efficiency of their dwellings in the coming decades, to realize the climate and renewable energy goals. This transition may have an important side effect: alleviation of energy poverty for people with low income, those who are now not able to afford keeping their house warm. The current project develops a big-data-based structural economic model to study the effect of energy transition for low-income families in the Netherlands. The model will inter alia be used to analyze the welfare trade-off between energy poverty alleviation and realization of environmental targets.



We are looking for a PhD-candidate with a strong economic/econometric background and societal involvement. He or she will join a team of researchers and practitioners, in which three universities (TU Eindhoven, Erasmus University Rotterdam and University of Leiden) collaborate with several public housing providers. Your research will first generate novel quasi-experimental evidence on the returns and behavioral effects of energy efficiency investments in public housing. Then administrative record data will be used to get insight into the extent of energy poverty among the social tenants. Finally, the results will enter as input into a structural microeconomic model. Counterfactuals based on the model should yield new insight into the welfare effects of energy-efficient residential improvements.



This position is part of a large transdisciplinary grant 'Behaviour, Energy transition, Low income'



The team

You will join the Urban Systems and Real Estate Group of the Department of the Built Environment of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). TU/e is a world-leading research university specializing in engineering science & technology, and is the world's best-performing university in terms of cooperation between research and industry (#1 since 2009). The Department of the Built Environment is responsible for research and education in Architecture, Civil Engineering, Urban Planning, Urban Economics and Real Estate. The department has a strong focus on the highly socially relevant fields of smart cities and sustainable systems.



The Urban Systems and Real Estate group consists of three full professors, ten assistant and associate professors, several postdocs, about 40 PhD and PDEng candidates and support staff. The USRE group is world-renowned for its research on mobility, urban planning, urban economics, real estate and information systems in the built environment. The group has a strong focus on the analysis and modelling of individuals' behavior and use of smart technologies to create more sustainable solutions and healthy environments for people.



The PhD program (https://www.tue.nl/en/education/graduate-school/phds-at-tue/  )

PhD programs at TU/e are four-year research positions, having as aim to educate excellent, independent researchers. The program is in English and entails: (i) post-master level education in the form of courses and projects, (ii) performing cutting-edge research that results in scientific publications and concrete practical applications. TU/e with its nine departments offers a wide choice of educational and scientific activities covering various subjects. Within the research group personal scientific development is supported among other things by biweekly scientific seminars as well as participation in yearly international conferences in different countries.

 

The candidates should have:

∙An MSc degree in Quantitative economics/ Econometrics/ Exact sciences.

∙A strong educational track-record including at least several of the following subjects: calculus, linear algebra, computational modelling, microeconomics, econometrics, operations research, data science.

∙A proven ability to write computer code and to organise data.

∙Having working experience at a European research institute or a European university is an advantage.

∙Strong demonstrable analytical skills and proficiency in English (spoken and written).

∙Affinity with collaboration with industry, ability to bring together fundamental and applied research.

Conditions of employment

We offer:

• A challenging job at a dynamic and ambitious university, in collaboration with experienced scientists and hi-tech companies.

• Support to your personal development and career planning.

• A full-time employment for 4 years. Gross monthly salaries are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement of the Dutch Universities (CAO NU), increasing from € 2325 per month initially, to € 2972 in the fourth year.

• An attractive package of fringe benefits including excellent work facilities, end of the year allowance, etc. The university provides all general modern facilities belonging to first class universities: mediation in housing, excellent sports facilities, language courses, modern digital library etc.

• See also www.tue.nl/en/working-at-tue/why-tue/compensation-and-benefits/