The Institute of Public Administration is looking for a PhD candidate to contribute to the project ‘Political Economy of the Green and Digital Transition between the Local, National and European Levels’. The PhD project will focus on how policymakers implement different industrial policy strategies at the European, national and/or local level, balancing the urgency of the green and/or digital transition with the need to maintain legitimacy vis-à-vis an increasingly critical electorate. The planned start is September 2024 or sooner.
In an era of climatic and geopolitical disruptions, health crises, soaring inflation, and eroding trust in democratic institutions, policymakers are caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, governments face growing pressure to design activist industrial policies to address pressing issues – such as completing the green and digital transitions and creating "good" knowledge-based jobs by attracting high-value-added investment – while limiting the negative welfare consequences of necessary reforms. These pressures have become particularly acute since the launch of the European Union’s Next Generation EU programme, as (national) governments are called upon to be the main catalysts for EU grants and loans. On the other hand, as the most visible "face of democracy", (local) governments are under pressure to reduce the perceived gap between politics, administration, and a disillusioned citizenry. This raises the question of how to achieve an industrial policy that is both responsible and accountable. To what extent do public authorities at the local, national, and European level design and implement public policies for digitalization and the green transition that are (perceived to be) both effective and legitimate?
Tasks and responsibilities The PhD candidate is expected to:
- write a doctoral dissertation (either a monograph or a set of articles) based on an independent scientific research project on green and/or digital industrial policies using qualitative or mixed methods, including case study research based on fieldwork.
- disseminate research findings to academic audiences by publishing single and co-authored articles in international peer-reviewed journals and by presenting research at academic conferences.
- communicate scientific findings to practitioners and the general public, for instance through publications in practitioner-oriented journals or websites, the development of trainings and/or interventions for practice, and participation in practice-oriented debates about how to design new forms of industrial policy.
- participate in and support the research and dissemination activities of the broader Political Economy and Public Policy research group.
- take part in training activities based on an individual training and supervision plan, in the area of transferable skills, in line with the PhD regulations of Leiden University (approximately 10% of the appointment).
- contribute to the teaching programmes of the Institute of Public Administration (approximately 10% of the appointment), with the opportunity to obtain the Basic Teaching Qualification (BKO).