PhD Money in postdivorce families: Resource pooling and transfers to children

Families are pivotal in redistributing income and wealth. Partners pool economic resources, and parents transfer resources to their offspring. In divorced families and stepfamilies, the redistribution of economic resources is less self-evident. This PhD project examines resource pooling and financial transfers to children in postdivorce families, focusing on the role of postdivorce family diversity and gender.

Your job
The project utilizes (i) panel data ‘New Families in the Netherlands’, (ii) administrative data, and (iii) newly collected qualitative data. The project will provide insights into women’s and children’s economic resilience following divorce and shows whether family diversity constitutes a new driver of socioeconomic inequalities.

The PhD project will be carried out at the Department of Sociology of Utrecht University and consists of the following tasks and responsibilities:

• Conducting the research (literature review, analysing data, reporting results) resulting in international scientific publications and a dissertation;
• Collecting qualitative data;
• Presenting at national and international conferences;
• Active participation in activities of the department;
• Teaching (max. 10% of your time).

You will work at the Department of Sociology in a well-integrated team of researchers. The supervisory team will consist of Prof. dr. Anne-Rigt Poortman and Dr. Anne Brons. We will closely cooperate with you and support your research activities. You will gain some experience with teaching and you will receive PhD-training within the Interuniversity Center for Social Science Theory and Methodology (ICS) Graduate School.

We are looking for an enthusiastic candidate, who

• has (almost) finished a Master programme in Sociology, Interdisciplinary Social Science, or related field;
• has strong affinity with the study of families and economic inequality;
• has experience with both quantitative and qualitative research (or is motivated to learn both types of research);
• has experience with large-scale, complex data sets and advanced statistical methods;
• enjoys doing research and reporting the results in scientific articles;
• want to share scientific knowledge with the general public;
• has good practical skills to set up a data collection;
• has good social skills and is creative;
• has good writing and presentation skills in English (and preferably also Dutch).

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability. Sharing science, shaping tomorrow.

The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences is one of the leading faculties in Europe providing research and academic teaching in cultural anthropology, educational sciences, interdisciplinary social science, pedagogical sciences, psychology, and sociology. Almost 7,000 students are enrolled in a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programmes. The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences has some 1,100 faculty and staff members, all providing their individual contribution to the training and education of young talent and to the research into and finding solutions for scientific and societal issues.

The faculty is located at Utrecht Science Park near the historical city centre of Utrecht.

For more information, please contact Anne-Rigt Poortman by a.poortman@uu.nl.

Candidates for this vacancy will be recruited by Utrecht University.