Terms of Reference: Research Officer and Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
1. Microcon Project: Microeconomics of Violence and Poverty
The project is housed at the research centre THEMA of the University of CergyPontoise. It is part of a larger research programme funded by the European
Commission, called MICROCON, or ‘A Micro Level Analysis of Violent Conflict’.
MICROCON is implemented by a consortium of universities and research institutes.
MICROCON has 14 ‘Work Packages’ on different research themes, all within the broad
theme of micro level analysis of violent conflict. For more information on
MICROCON, please see the programme website at http://www.microconflict.eu.
For more information on the THEMA please see the website at
http://www.u-cergy.fr/rubrique1320.html.
The project has several years duration.
First component:
We intend to study the interactions of the different shocks suffered by households in
developing countries (Rwanda, Congo, etc): price changes, seasonal and inter-annual
weather fluctuations, illness and nutrition issues, conflicts and other political shocks,
other economic shocks.
Econometric models will be estimated at the household level to understand:
(1) How poverty and living standards of household in these countries are affected by
these shocks?
(2) What are the correlation structure and the explanatory interdependence between
these shocks?
(3) How household respond to these interacting shocks, notably by engaging into
conflicts?
The main objectives are to provide a better understanding of the interaction of the
various economic, environment and political shocks born by such households, of the
consequences for living standards and poverty, and of the coping strategies adopted by
these households.
Second component:
We intend to analytically investigate the strategic use of political violence as a
bargaining instrument by political entrepreneurs, with applications to civil conflicts in
developing countries such as Rwanda. We intend to develop an analytical model of
political violence. This model will be used to explore the roles played by (1) ethnic
identity (2) external interventions (e.g. colonising powers, international pressure,
corruption); (3) economic dynamics (e.g. growth and living standard determination,
inequality and attitudes with respect to social justice, fertility and decrease in land
fertility with consequences for poverty).
2. The location
The University of Cergy-Pontoise is a public university and a leading centre of teaching
and research. It is located 30 kms from central Paris. It offers all levels of intermediate,
graduate and post-graduate studies to about 12,000 students, of which 1,700 are from
outside France. 135 bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees are available in a wide
range of fields: law, economy and management, languages, literature and social
sciences, and science and technology.
With its thirty one researchers and associate researchers, its twenty five PhD students
and prestigious international collaborations, the research centre THEMA is a leading
centre of research in France. Its theoretical findings in economics and statistics have
been applied to numerous fields of economics.
3. The positions
The positions correspond to work based on several micro-economic databases for
Rwanda, Cambodia, Congo and other developing countries. The aim is to develop
empirical analyses of violence, poverty and other risk affecting households in such
countries from a micro-level perspective.
Both positions are research positions and do not involve any teaching. However,
voluntary teaching opportunities may be available.
The Research Officer
The Research Officer will work exclusively on the MICROCON project and would be a
core member of the MICROCON project team at THEMA. He would be expected to
provide support on all aspects on the project. In particular, he would be responsible,
under guidance from the team, for data preparation, statistical analyses of the data, basic
econometric estimations of micro-economic models, and writing reports and research
papers. The assignment may include infrequent travel for workshops in Europe or
elsewhere.
This would be a one-year contract, with the option of possible extension to at least
another year depending on performance.
The Research Officer is required to have the following skills:
PhD or excellent master in economics or statistics. However, good
candidate with large database analysis experience will be considered in
any case.
Some research experience (one-two years) is wished. However, we are
willing to consider combinations of research experience and
educational qualifications.
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The candidate should have an applied econometric background
(through published or working papers or project reports).
Ability to work independently as well as part of an international team.
Good writing skills in English.
Ability to compile information from a variety of sources and synthesize
it in a coherent structure.
Skills in data management and statistical analysis using Stata or an
equivalent econometric package. This includes data preparation and
calculation of descriptive statistics, basic graphs and frequency tables.
More complex econometric analysis is also expected, although the
research officier will have the possibility of acquiring some of these
skills during the course of the work.
The research officer would work in close consultation with Professor Christophe Muller
at THEMA and other members of the MICROCON team.
The Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
The position provides an opportunity for a technically strong and empirically-oriented
Post Docs to participate in a work programme of applied research on challenging
themes and exceptional databases.
The Research Fellow will work mostly on the MICROCON project and would be a
member of the MICROCON project team at THEMA. He would also have opportunities
for independent work. He would be responsible, under support from the team, for
econometric estimations of micro-economic models, economic analyses and writing
research papers. The assignment may include infrequent travel for workshops in Europe
or elsewhere.
This would be a one-year contract, with the option of possible extension to at least
another year depending on performance.
The Research Fellow is required to have the following skills:
PhD in economics or statistics (or under completion). However,
candidates with exceptional mathematical skills will be considered in
any case.
The candidate should have an applied econometric background
(through published or working papers).
Ability to work independently as well as part of an international team.
Good writing skills in English.
Skills in statistical analysis and econometric estimation and tests using
Stata or an equivalent econometric package.
Successful applicants should have a doctoral degree in the field of applied economics or
applied statistics, preferably related to poverty analysis, development or microeconometrics, but not exclusively. Applicants should have publications or papers under
review in refereed journals.
Proven skills in data analysis and econometrics are mandatory.
The position is available from early 2008 for one year duration with a possibility for
further renewal.
The research fellow would work in close consultation with Professor Christophe Muller
at THEMA and other members of the MICROCON team.
High performance post-doctoral researchers may have the opportunity to be considered
for permanent academic positions.
4. Application
To apply, please send us your CV and a covering letter which addresses the job
description and person specification to: Lisa Colin, lisa.collin@u-cergy.fr
Additionally for the research fellow application, include the name of two references, a
short summary of your research agenda, and two recent papers.
Alternatively, you may send a hard copy application to:
Lisa Collin,
THEMA (UMR CNRS 8184), Université de Cergy-Pontoise
UFR d’Economie et Gestion
33, boulevard du Port
95011 Cergy-Pontoise Cedex
France
Secrétariat :
Tél : (33) 1 34 25 60 63
Fax : (33) 1 34 25 62 33
The deadline for applications is mid-January. However, we may consider applications
after this date.
The selected applicants will be notified of the interview data by end January at the
latest. Owing to the large number of enquiries received, it is not possible to enter into
further correspondence with the applicants. Therefore, if you do not receive any
communication by end January 2008, please assume that on this occasion your
application has not been successful.