PhD Positions in Applied Macroeconomics and Political Economy

ETH Zurich seeks a doctoral researcher for applied macroeconomics and political economy at the KOF Swiss Economic Institute in Zürich. This full-time, onsite role focuses on original academic research and quantitative analysis.

The position is a doctoral researcher role situated at ETH Zurich and the KOF Swiss Economic Institute, which stands as Switzerland’s foremost academic center for applied economic research. The appointee will concentrate on applied macroeconomics, public finance, and political economy, contributing to the institute's rigorous academic output.

Responsibilities

• Formulate research questions and study designs to support original academic publications.
• Gather, organize, and evaluate diverse datasets, including firm-level, country-level, geospatial, administrative, survey, or text data.
• Share findings and discuss research progress at internal seminars, academic workshops, and international conferences.
• Participate in the Chair’s and KOF’s research activities, including regular meetings and seminars.
• Finish required coursework within the D-MTEC doctoral program.
• Assist with teaching duties as needed and aligned with personal interests.

Requirements

• Hold a Master’s degree in Economics or a closely related discipline by the start date.
• Demonstrate strong competency in econometrics, statistics, and quantitative methods.
• Be proficient in at least one statistical programming language, such as Stata, R, or Python.
• Communicate effectively in both written and spoken English.
• Candidates from quantitative fields like statistics, data science, political science, public policy, or finance must show adequate training in economics.

Nice to have

• Experience or interest in panel-data methods, causal inference, time-series econometrics, or large microeconomic dataset analysis.
• Interest in international taxation, tax competition, tax havens, fiscal federalism, or the political economy of tax policy.
• Aspiration to build a research-oriented career in academia or beyond.
• Knowledge of German is appreciated but not mandatory.

What the company offers

• Chance to pursue a PhD at ETH Zurich and KOF in a collaborative and engaging research setting.
• Initial 18-month contract with potential extension for the typical four- to five-year doctoral period.
• Internationally competitive salary and employment conditions per ETH Zurich regulations.
• Opportunities to exchange ideas with peers and attend seminars, workshops, and conferences.

About the company

KOF Swiss Economic Institute provides independent data, analysis, and assessments for politics, business, and society. Researchers in this role join a broad community of economic scholars dedicated to applied research.

• Access to independent data, analysis, and assessments for politics, business, and society.
• Integration into a broad community of economic researchers.