Postdoctoral Researcher: The Economics of Housing Affordability

The Department of Spatial Economics is looking for a Postdoc Researcher for a 3-year position on a project examining housing affordability and urban economics, focusing on key issues in housing markets.

Job description

The Department of Spatial Economics is seeking a Postdoctoral Researcher for a three-year position on a project focused on housing affordability and urban economics. The successful candidate will work on cutting-edge research that addresses critical issues in housing markets.

The project focuses on housing affordability in the Netherlands Denmark and UK over the last 50 years. It aims to evaluate policies regarding public housing, urban renewal and rental regulation estimating reduced form and quantitative equilibrium models. The postdoc will cooperate with PhD students as well as professors within the Department focusing on the same topic.

Responsibilities:

• Conduct original research on housing affordability and urban economics;
• Develop and apply spatial quantitative models to analyze housing markets and policy interventions;
• Collaborate with a dynamic team of researchers, contributing to academic publications and policy reports;
• Present findings at international conferences and workshops;
• Help out with teaching two 6-week courses on urban and housing economics.

Requirements

• PhD in Economics;
• Strong background in quantitative research, micro-economics and applied econometrics;
• Familiarity with housing markets and urban economics is an advantage;
• Knowledge of applying (dynamic) spatial quantitative models is a plus;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English;
• Ability to work independently and in a collaborative research environment;
• Experience with spatial quantitative models and geographic information systems (GIS);
• Strong coding skills (e.g., R, Python, Stata) for spatial data analysis.

Conditions of employment

Fixed-term contract: 1 year.

A challenging position in a socially engaged organisation. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. And that is valuable. So in return for your efforts, we offer you:

• Close supervision and mentorship from Professors Jos van Ommeren and Hans Koster;
• Opportunities for academic development and participation in international research networks;
• a salary of minimum € 3.378,00 (Scale 10) and maximum € 4.537,00 (Scale 10) gross per month, on a full-time basis. This is based on UFO profile Researcher 4. The exact salary depends on your education and experience;
• a position for at least 1 FTE. Your employment contract will initially last 1 year. After a satisfactory evaluation of the initial appointment, the contract will be extended for the duration of 2 years (the total duration of the project is 3 years).

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and regulations. Some examples:

• A full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata;
• 8% Holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus;
• Space for personal development;
• Contribution to commuting expenses.

Employer

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

School of Business and Economics
We at the School of Business and Economics (SBE) at VU Amsterdam bring together socially relevant teaching and research in the areas of business administration and economics. We focus on real-life issues that have a huge impact on society, economics and ecology: from robotics to big data, and from job market participation to change management.

Collaboration and cooperation, transparency and social responsibility are four keywords that embody our approach. Students, researchers and staff at SBE share real-world knowledge in order to devise solutions together to global economic and social challenges. In order to make a positive impact on the world, society and the lives of others.

Are you interested in joining SBE? You will work in a stimulating, dynamic and international environment with motivated colleagues dedicated to helping society make informed choices. SBE employs roughly 600 staff, with 7,250 students enrolled in the Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes and 1,700 executive students.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam stands for values-driven education and research. We are open-minded experts with the ability to think freely - a broader mind. Maintaining an entrepreneurial perspective and concentrating on diversity, significance and humanity, we work on sustainable solutions with social impact. By joining forces, across the boundaries of disciplines, we work towards a better world for people and planet. Together we create a safe and respectful working and study climate, and an inspiring environment for education and research. Learn more about our codes of conduct

We are located on one physical campus, in the heart of Amsterdam's Zuidas business district, with excellent location and accessibility. Over 6,150 staff work at the VU and over 31,000 students attend academic education.

Diversity
Diversity is the driving force of VU Amsterdam. VU wants to be accessible and receptive to diversity in disciplines, cultures, ideas, nationalities, beliefs, preferences and worldviews. We believe that trust, respect, interest and differences lead to new insights and innovation, to sharpness and clarity, to excellence and a broader understanding.

We stand for an inclusive community and believe that diversity and internationalisation contribute to the quality of education, research and our services.

Therefore, we are always searching for people whose backgrounds and experience contribute to the diversity of the VU community.

Additional information

Are you interested in this position and do you believe that your experience will contribute to the further development of our university? In that case, we encourage you to submit your application.

The following documents are needed for the application procedure:

• A cover letter detailing your research experience and interests.
• CV, including a list of publications.
• Contact information for two academic references.

Submitting a diploma is part of the application process.

Applications received by e-mail will not be considered.

Acquisition in response to this advertisement is not appreciated.