PhD candidate (75%) bei ifo Institut – Leibniz Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung an der Universität München e V

Our goal is to help shape the economic debate. That is why we are looking for female and male economists who want to achieve research excellence. We will help you reach your goals by providing excellent research conditions plus graduate schools and collaborations with Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, TU Dresden, and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. In addition, we offer a mentoring program for female economists, and our CESifo network, which gives you access to international researchers from all over the world. You can also further your career outside of research – because we systematically support the professional development of our staff through workshops, seminars, and further training.

PhD candidate (f/m/d) (75%)

We are looking for a PhD candidate (f/m/d) to complement our new junior research group in “Big Data (in particular data in energy & climate)” at the LMU-ifo Economics & Business Data Center (EBDC), located at the ifo Institute. The group works on data-driven projects in the field of energy and climate, in particular regarding the development and adoption of green technologies such as electric mobility as well as green innovation more generally.

The position will be part of the LMU-ifo Economics & Business Data Center (EBDC) as well as the research cluster “Big Data Economics”. The latter uses new statistical methods from the field of "Data Science" and/or unconventional, very large, often unstructured data sets to investigate policy-relevant economic questions and problems. The cluster offers multiple options for collaborations between the different research departments of the ifo Institute.

The ifo Institute is one of the leading economic research institutes in Europe. It works on economically and politico-economic issues of international relevance at the highest scientific level and with an international impact and it develops research-based recommendations for politics, business and society. Through its five fields of action - research, promotion of young researchers, policy consulting, participation in public debates and information/services - it contributes to maintaining and increasing sustainable economic prosperity and social participation under constantly changing conditions.

Do you want to know more about us and your career opportunities? Meet us at https://www.ifo.de/en/about-us/ifo-career.

Your area of responsibility

• You will be part of the junior research group in “Big Data (in particular data in energy & climate)” at the LMU-ifo Economics & Business Data Center (EBDC).
• You contribute to the group’s research projects. We further encourage the development of your own research, in order to build your own research profile.
• You will pursue a PhD degree in economics at the University of Munich (LMU), participating in the structured doctoral student training program run by the Munich Graduate School of Economics (MGSE) of the LMU.
• The position is research-focused. ifo will help you to distribute your results to the public through various channels. To a limited extent and within your skillset, you will contribute to service activities provided by the EBDC as well as teaching.
• The ideal starting date is fall 2023 but subject to mutual agreement.

What we expect from you

• You have completed your master's degree in economics with excellent results. Alternatively, a degree in a related quantitative subject (statistics, data science, engineering with a focus on energy or innovation economics,…) can be considered, if they include significant classwork in economics.
• You have solid knowledge of relevant empirical methods and strong programming skills/experience, especially in Python and R.
• You are interested in the field of energy and climate economics and may have collected first experiences, either in related classes or internships. We also invite candidates to apply who currently hold positions in relevant industries but are interested in an academic career.
• You are interested in acquiring knowledge of methods of causal interference as well as machine learning-based methods such as computer vision, natural language processing, or unsupervised machine learning, depending on the project.
• With excellent English language skills, both written and spoken, you will be able to interact confide