05 Postdoctoral Fellowship at Vrije University Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Department of Spatial Economics at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam invites applications for a Horizon Europe-funded postdoc position in the field of water resources economics.

With 20 partner institutions, this project focuses on using nature-based solutions (NBS) to enhance climate resilience in water management, particularly in addressing droughts. The postdoctoral researcher will contribute to the economic aspects of NBS implementation, with the primary focus on the design of contractual mechanisms to incentivize the adoption of NBS by landowners. Contract design is based on the combined use of theoretical micro-economic models, simulations, and economic (lab/field) experiments. The research will integrate insights from economic theory, institutional arrangements, and empirical data from demonstration sites across Europe to develop tailored economic models for water resource management.

The postdoc will work closely with Dr. Erik Ansink at VU and with partner institutions to bridge economic analysis with governance and policy aspects of water management. The role includes engagement with stakeholders to co-design effective contracts in order to ensure their applicability in each project demonstration site.

The project includes theoretical, methodological, empirical and societal-intervention components. From a theoretical perspective, the project derives an overview of plausible explanations of the negative income/wealth-generosity gradient. The methodological component entails the development of a weighting procedure to link survey responses to income and inheritance tax register data. After deriving a solid theoretical input and a reliable weighing procedure, the project team will analyse linked survey-register data to empirically study theoretical considerations on the negative income/wealth-generosity gradient. Finally, the project includes field experiments to find ways to reverse this gradient and enhance generosity in society. The research will be conducted in collaboration with a group of stakeholders in fundraising and wealth management, and with the office of national statistics (Statistics Netherlands, CBS). More information about the project is available at https://renebekkers.wordpress.com/2024/07/23/generating-generosity/. The full proposal, including a detailed description of the subprojects, is available at https://osf.io/e3mux/.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on parents. School and childcare closures, balancing work and homeschooling, and reduced social support led to mental health struggles for many. While many parents showed resilience, others may experience long-term mental health problems, affecting both their wellbeing and their children’s development. The project ‘Pandemic Impact and Caregivers Outcomes (PICO): mental health and equity in families’ investigates how the pandemic affected mental health of parents with children at preschool age (0-4 years), school-age (4-12 years) and adolescence (12-18 years). This study has a repeated cross-sectional design, using Gezondheidsmonitor Volwassenen en Ouderen data from five waves between 2012 and 2024. The project aims to examine:

1. Potential changes in parental mental health before, during, and after the pandemic;
2. Socioeconomic, cultural and gender differences in parental mental health;
3. How factors like social support, family characteristics and resilience explain these mental health differences.

As a postdoctoral researcher, you will play a key role in the PICO project. You will provide insights into mental health inequalities and identify risk and protective factors, helping to inform interventions in future pandemics or other crisis situations. By joining us, you will become part of a dynamic and enthusiastic team of researchers committed to making a real impact in the field of mental health. You will closely collaborate with researchers of the COVID-19 measures on Child Outcomes (COCO) project, a mixed-method study on the medium-term impact of the COVID-19 measures on health and development of preschool children and mental health of their parents.

Our theory group is a worldwide leader in studying the statistical physics of living systems, ranging from chromosomes to migrating cells and multicellular tissues. We aim to understand the emergent functional dynamics and organization of living systems in close collaboration with various experimental labs. We currently have an opening for an ERC funded 3-year Post Doc position.

We are looking for highly motivated applicants with a PhD to strengthen our research team in an interactive and
collaborative environment.