Job opening - Postdoctoral researcher - Microeconomics and Development Economics - Cerdi, Clermont-Ferrand

Job Opening : Postdoctoral researcher – Microeconomics and Development Economics - the Economics of Natural Disasters

The CERDI (Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches sur le Développement International) is seeking a researcher who has recently defended or should be very close to finishing a PhD in economics. The candidate will be part of a team working on the Economics of Natural Disasters.

The position is for 2 years starting as soon as possible.

The closing date for applications is 31 October 2018.

The candidate should have strong skills in applied development economics including risk economics, microeconometrics (using Stata) and management of large data sets. She/he should be able to conduct high-level research to publish in international peer-reviewed journals. She/he should be fluent in English or French; being able to read documents in Spanish is essential.

The CERDI is recognized as a leading institution in research dedicated to international development economics. A research program has existed for several years at the CERDI on sustainable development issues embedding risk economics, natural resources and environmental economics. It is worth noticing that the CERDI was awarded the highest mark by the French Evaluation Agency for Research and Higher Education (AERES) in 2011. The candidate should also benefit from the stimulating environment of the CERDI, which hosts many doctorate, post-doctorate and tenure researchers, and has a large experience in teaching in the field of development economics.

Research Project

We propose to study the economic consequences of the lahars of the Misti volcano that invade the city of Arequipa (Peru). The lahars that repeatedly (on average every 3.5 years) flood Arequipa are concentrated flows generated by torrential rains that mobilize volcanic materials on the slopes of the Misti. The stakes are high because Arequipa is the second largest urban area in Peru and has nearly one million inhabitants.

Within this context, the following questions will be addressed:
i) Analyze how households exposed to a risk of lahar seek to reduce ex ante the variability of their total income (risk management).
ii) Assess the impact of lahar exposure on the formation of poverty traps.
iii) Analyze the variation in real estate prices on several spatial and temporal scales.
iv) Study the links between risk exposure and labor markets.
All this questions will be based on an available mapping of the affected areas and micro economic data available from INEI (Peruvian Statistical Institute).

Application

The position is for 2 years starting as soon as possible. Remuneration is of 2000 euros, in accordance with French public tariff scheme. Review of applications will start immediately and continue until the position is filled. The closing date for applications is 31 October 2018.
Applications containing a CV including publications (max 2 pages), and a cover letter (max 2 pages) should be sent electronically to Dr. Pascale Phélinas (pascale.phelinas@ird.fr).