The Department of Forest Economics at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Umeå is searching for a Doctoral student. The Ph.D. student will work on the project “Climate off-farm rippled impacts on wellbeing and behavioral resilience” funded by the Swedish Research Council. Farm-level climate change impacts ripple off-farm to affect non-farming individuals whose well-being depends on harvests. This research will apply mixed quantitative and qualitative methods in Ghana, Liberia, and Ivory Coast to: (1) assess off-farm climate impacts on individuals along local cocoa value-added chains; (2) identify behavioral adaptations to buffer the impacts of climate impacts by actors along value chains; (3) determine socially-acceptable interventions that can enhance off-farm climate resiliency.
The profile of the student is of a person fully committed to development research with foundational training in research methods and background appreciation of farming dynamics in developing countries. The candidate will be responsible for: integrating economics and natural resource management knowledge into relevant research designs; developing research questions; applying appropriate econometric and qualitative analytical tools; writing scientific manuscripts and compile a Ph.D. thesis suitable for examination. The Ph.D. program consists of 4-year full-time studies with the position contracted based on annual evaluations. Coursework is included in the Ph.D. program.
Qualifications: To be eligible, the candidate should hold at least a Master’s degree in economics or related field (e.g. agricultural economics, development economics, natural resource economics, forest economics), or a strong quantitative interdisciplinary program. Excellent written and oral communication skills in English are required. Demonstrated capacity to integrate forestry and economics concepts, experience writing scientific manuscripts, and advanced documented knowledge in the use of R, SAS, Stata or other analytical software are considered extra merit. Working knowledge of French is preferable but not mandatory.
Place of work: Umeå, Sweden
Application: We welcome applications until February 29, 2024.
Applicants must submit:
· a CV
· a two-page research statement
· copies of degrees and transcripts of all academic records
· one copy of the MS thesis
· contact information for at least two referees familiar with the applicant's qualifications
· certified knowledge of English
· if relevant, copies of relevant publications
Questions relevant to the application can be sent to Francisco.aguilar@slu.se. Full details regarding this position are available online at: https://www.slu.se/en/about-slu/work-at-slu/jobs-vacancies/?rmpage=job&rmjob=9480&rmlang=UK
Francisco X Aguilar
Professor, Department of Forest Economics, SLU, Umeå
University Fellow, Resources for the Future, Washington DC
Postal address: Inst för skogsekonomi, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), 90183 UMEÅ
E-mail: francisco.aguilar@slu.se