项目介绍

2026年4月15日

Introduction

Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) is opening a 4-year PhD position (full time) in the General Economics departmentas part of the NWO Vici project “Making Money Matter: Rethinking the Design of Income Support to Break the Cycle of Intergenerational Poverty”. This project focuses on understanding the intergenerational transmission of poverty and persistent inequality. It examines how the design of income support—its timing, security, generosity, and scope—can help break intergenerational cycles of poverty and improve children’s developmental outcomes.

As a PhD student, you will become part of the project’s team and you will contribute to innovative research that helps governments better understand how income support can be redesigned to strengthen children’s development and promote equality of opportunity.

The position is open to candidates interested in topics related to Applied Microeconometrics, especially Labor Economics.

Job description

The PhD position offers the opportunity to study the intergenerational transmission of poverty and the role of social programs.

The main aim of the Vici project is to transform our understanding of income support by causally identifying how its structure and scope shape children’s long-term outcomes. It will generate insights that inspire program designs that make money matter—not only as short-term relief, but as a lever to break cycles of intergenerational poverty.

More specifically, the following questions will be addressed:

1. How do key features of income support structure —such as timing, security, and generosity of support—affect child development?
2. How does extending the scope of income support programs—beyond income provision to also address disadvantages such as poor health, debt, unstable eployment, and family instability—enhance their effectiveness at breaking cycles of intergenerational poverty?

Addressing these questions will be done in collaboration with international experts. 

The project places a strong emphasis on causal identification, applying state-of-the-art econometric methods such as staggered difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity designs, and causal forest–based identification strategies.

The position is open for candidates interested in doing causal inference in policy-relevant research, and working with large administrative data.

Job requirements

We welcome PhD candidates who aspire a career in research. To become one of our PhD candidates, you will need to be admitted to one of Erasmus School of Economics’ graduate schools, the Tinbergen Institute or the Erasmus Research Institute in Management (ERIM). Applicants should have a strong background in economics, quantitative methods, and a keen interest in labor economics and inequality.

General Requirements:

• MPhil or Research Master’s degree in Economics, Econometrics or Mathematics.
  • Candidates with an MSc or MA degree are required to successfully complete 1 year of courses at the graduate school they are part of (Research Qualifications at the Tinbergen Institute or courses at ERIM).
• Excellent study results for both the bachelor and master’s degree.
• Interest in and strong motivation for scientific research explained in a statement of purpose.
• GRE test is required for all entering PhD students. Valid GRE (revised) General Test results are required from all PhD applicants (all 3 sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and Analytical Writing). Successful applicants typically perform among the top-10% of test-takers on the quantitative part of the GRE; applicants with a Q score below 160 will not be considered.
• Excellent command of English (IELTS/TOEFL). Students whose native language is not English are therefore required to demonstrate English proficiency by:
  • holding a degree from a Dutch university or an institution at which English is the language of instruction, or
  • scoring at least 100 on the TOEFL iBT test or 7 on the IELTS test.
• Two reference letters
• Curriculum Vitae                                                                                                                                                                               

Employment conditions and benefits

We offer you an internationally oriented and varied job in an enthusiastic team, with excellent working conditions in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU). 

The starting date is 1st of September 2026 or later (September 1st 2027 the latest). You will be based at the Economics Department, located at the Erasmus School of Economics. This position is for 1 FTE. The salary is dependent on your experience and knowledge and starts with 3.095 euros (scale P) on a fulltime basis (38 hours), in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement – Dutch Universities. 

Everything else we offer you, you can find below!

• Everything you need for a good work-life balance: the option to work from home in consultation with your manager, 41 days of paid leave with a 40 hour contract, 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a significant discount on a subscription for our on-campus sports centreOpens external!
• Sustainable, inclusive and diverse work environment with an open culture, where you can be yourself and we pay attention to each other and to the world around us. Make the most of our bicycle budget, or join networks such as Young@EUROpens external, FAME, QuEUR, or Young Erasmus AcademyOpens external.
• Time and space for your development in the broadest sense: development days and a personal career budget, foreign exchange opportunities with most costs paid by EUR, and free access to our university library.
• Good pension with ABP that EUR contributes 2/3rds towards, discounts on various collective insurances with Zilveren Kruis Achmea, Loyalis, and Allianz, and compensation for travel, working from home and home internet use.
• Are you currently combining your job with parenthood, or do you want to do so in the future? EUR offers, fully paid maternity leave, partially paid parental leave and fully paid additional birth leave for partners, and our campus features a daycare.
• Moving to the Netherlands for your job with EUR? Then you may be eligible for the 30%-ruling if you meet the requirements of the Belastingdienst (Dutch tax agency), and with our Dual Career Programme we will also help your partner find the right job for them. 

Employer

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’. EUR is home to 4.100 academics and professionals and almost 33.000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way – Making Minds Matter. We’re global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR’s distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. www.eur.nl.

Faculty / Institute / Central service

Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) is a leading school in economics in the Netherlands. It has a strong international reputation and aims to do outstanding research. Moreover, it provides excellent education at the BA., MA. and Ph.D. levels. Much research at Erasmus School of Economics is policy relevant, has social impact, and offers a strong research culture, ample research resources, and comparatively low teaching loads.
www.eur.nl/en/ese

Department

The Economics department at Erasmus School of Economics offers a vibrant research environment and a friendly atmosphere. We host several seminar series on a variety of topics, including the Research on Monday seminarOpens external, where top researchers are invited, and a Health and Labor seminarOpens external, where both internal and external scholars in Labor and Health have the opportunity to present and receive feedback on their research.

Additional information

Contact details of supervisory team:  Anne Gielen, email: gielen@ese.eur.nl, webpage: www.annegielen.nlOpens external

Applying

Applications will be reviewed by the supervisors and recruitment committees. Pre-selected candidates will then be invited for an (online) interview. Kindly note that we can only accept applications containing all the required documents and information. We look forward to receiving your application.

Persons of all gender identities or expressions, sexual orientations, religions, ethnicities, ages, neurodiversities, functional impairments, citizenships, or any other aspect are welcome to apply and join the EUR community. For questions regarding the application procedure please contact Lindsey Pijpers (PhD Officer) at doctoraloffice@ese.eur.nl