Job offer- Two-year postdoc position on “Understanding societal views on carbon pricing”
Two-year postdoc position on “Understanding societal views on carbon pricing”
The project:
The project aims to improve our understanding of what explains public preferences for carbon pricing (CP). Many experts regard CP as crucial to stop climate change, while others are strongly opposed to it. The core questions of the project are: How does support for CP relate to factors such as knowledge about its functioning? How is it associated with the design of CP, in terms of carbon taxation versus cap-and-trade, or using CP revenues to reduce taxes on labor or poor households, or to subsidize renewable energy? And how do ideologies, values and related social-psychological factors influence public views? A variety of stakeholders will be studied, including citizens, academics, and representatives of think tanks, NGO’s, industry, finance, media and policy.
Tasks:
The postdoc will be responsible for project-related data collection and analysis. A range of qualitative and quantitative methods will be employed, including semi-structured interviews, large-scale surveys, and possibly computer-based content analysis. It is expected that the candidate will present intermediate research results at workshops and conferences, and publish them together with the project leaders in relevant academic outlets.
Profile:
The candidate has recently completed a Ph.D. in a relevant discipline or is expected to graduate soon. S/he should demonstrate experience and/or interest in issues of climate/environmental policy, environmental psychology, behavioral economics or related fields. The postdoc is expected to be open to interdisciplinary work. Experience with quantitative and/or qualitative methods is valued. A good oral and written command of the English language is essential, while Spanish language skills are a plus. Candidates should at least have one publication in a peer-reviewed international scientific journal.
Contract terms:
The appointment will be on a temporary basis for a period of 2 years at ICTA-UAB, starting no later than May 2017. The salary will depend on the experience of the candidate.
Work environment:
The position is based at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) (www.uab.cat/icta), which is part of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). ICTA is a multidisciplinary institute which promotes academic research and postgraduate education in the environmental sciences. It was recently accredited as a “María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence” by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO). In this context, it addresses major global environmental and sustainability challenges related to anthropogenic climate change, including perspectives from natural, social and engineering sciences.
Application procedure:
Please send your CV, a 1-page motivation letter, and the contact information of two references. Applications should be emailed (no later than February 25) to Prof. Dr. Jeroen van den Bergh (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain – jeroen.bergh@uab.es) and Dr. Stefan Drews (University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany – drews@uni-landau.de). Interviews (by phone or skype) are expected to take place in the first half of March.