Post doc - Vienna Austria - Macroecological modeling

The Institute for Ecological Economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business is inviting applications for a third-party-funded post-doc to work on the project “Systemic risk assessment in the next phase of the energy transition” (financed by the Anniversary Fund of the OeNB, Austria’s central bank). The position is intended to start as full-time, 40 hours/week, but part-time hours may also be discussed as a possibility.

The employer:
WU Wien (Vienna University of Economics and Business) is the second-largest business university in the European Union with roughly 21,800 students and over 2,400 employees working in teaching, research and administration. WU’s Institute for Ecological Economics is a leading institution in the areas of ecological economics, ecological macroeconomics, global resource use and climate and sustainability finance, with a young, international, dynamic and convivial crowd of academics and administrative staff.

The research project:
The post-doc is funded by the OeNB, Austria’s central bank, to work on the project “Systemic risk assessment in the next phase of the energy transition.” The project aims to contribute to the need for new modelling approaches incorporating novel phenomena that are likely to shift the context in which the next phase of the energy transition will occur. In particular, these novelties include geopolitically linked shifts in the global trade regime, the new wave of green industrial policy and the return of inflation as a macroeconomic constraint. The approach will be informed by perspectives in political economy and the social sciences for understanding path-dependent institutional change, and will attempt to build the modelling and scenario analyses on top of these foundations. The principal result will be the attempt to trace concomitant institutional and economic change in a non-equilibrium framework related to the global energy transition. Efforts will focus on:

1. Developing a dynamic integrated model that is robust to interactions between the macroeconomic environment, technological development and diffusion, environmental resource bottlenecks and shifts in the global trade regime;
2. Calibrating the model to produce internally coherent and realistic transition pathways;
3. Using these pathways to assess financial and other policy scenarios in multiple contexts to provide more adaptable and context-dependent assessment tools.

Your responsibilities:

• You will be concentrating fully on research.
• You will also be able to develop your own independent research within the broad scope of the research project.
• As this position is grant-funded, there are no teaching obligations, but teaching options exist if you are interested.

You have:

• A strong academic background (PhD or equivalent) in economics or related social sciences (PhD candidates near completion are also welcome).
• A proven interest in topics such as social-ecological transformation, low-carbon transition, monetary policy and financial regulation, institutional change, geopolitics, and trade.
• A solid reputation as a researcher with strong connections in the international academic community (e.g., collaboration networks, conference participation, workshop organization).
• A promising pipeline of well-developed research papers.
• Clear ambition to publish in highly ranked journals.
• Familiarity with or openness to working with approaches like ecological economics, post-Keynesian economics, institutionalist economics, or other political economy frameworks.
• One or more of the following skills:
  • Proficiency in data analytics (e.g., econometrics, geometric data analysis) with an interest in high-quality academic research.
  • Coding expertise and experience in economic model development.
  • Knowledge of stock-flow consistent modeling (including ABM-SFC) with an interest in applying it in academic research.
  • Qualitative research methods from social sciences with an interest in high-quality academic research.
• Excellent English writing and communication skills.
• (Optional) German language skills—English is the working language.

Required submission material:

• C.V.
• Cover letter with motivation.
• Research sample (published or submitted article, working paper, PhD or book chapter).
• Any additional relevant piece of research to the project.

Questions and applications should be directed to the project lead investigator, Dr. Steven Knauss ( ). The minimum gross monthly salary for a postdoctoral position is € 4,752 (full-time employment, paid 14 times per year). This salary may be adjusted based on job-related prior work experience. In addition, we offer a wide range of attractive social benefits. The position is initially for 18 months, with an anticipated start date around March 1, 2025 (flexible by a few months in either direction), and may be extended depending on the project budget. The workplace is located in Vienna, Austria.

If you are interested in a job with diverse responsibilities in a pleasant and stimulating work environment, please submit your application by January 13, 2025 .

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