Post-doctoral fellow at the Department of Economic History - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The African Economic History research group is today one of the largest of its kind in the world, with close to 20 people employed, covering different regions and time periods. The group collaborates with numerous universities in Africa in both research and higher education and it enjoys a good reputation in the international African Economic History community.

The Department of Economic History announces one position as post-doctoral fellow in the projekt African Elites: Wealth Accumulation and Persistence.

Subject area

African Economic History

Job assignments

The holder will mainly work in the externally funded research project African Elites: Wealth Accumulation and Persistence. The primary focus of the project is the analysis of the development of African elites in the informal (agrarian) sector. It is building on a previous project where we estimated income levels and groups size for income classes. Now we move forward explaining drivers of long-term trends of wealth accumulation, specifically the nexus between elites, colonial policies and commercialization. We also pursue the issue of how the elites fared after independence and the extent to which they have continued to shape African economies.

More specifically, the research will, based on the social tables approach, identify economic elites within the African population during both the colonial and independence eras and address the drivers and mechanisms behind their relative success. Emphasis in the project is on collecting raw data, creating new data and using existing databases for population, wages, prices, living costs and so on. The sources and methods are both quantitative and qualitative, but no advanced quantitative analysis is required. Previous experience from constructing social tables is a clear advantage.

Work tasks involve data collection, digitisation and analysis as well as writing academic papers for publication in international, well-renowned journals. The work should be done independently but also in collaboration with other members of the research team. The post-doctoral fellow should participate in relevant workshops as well as present on-going research and disseminate results at conferences. S/he should also be willing to interact with students and to participate actively in the common activities of the African Economic History research group.

The position involves a limited amount of teaching (maximum of 20%) and/or supervision of Bachelor and Master's Theses.

Eligibility/Entry Requirements

The post-doctoral fellow must hold a PhD in Economic history, Economics or History, awarded no more than three years ago (unless the applicant has been on parental or sick leave or other deductible cause).

http://www.arbetsgivarverket.se/globalassets/avtal-skrifter/centralaavtal/avtal.pdf

http://www.arbetsgivarverket.se/globalassets/avtal-skrifter/centralaavtal/forhandlingsprotokoll-2008-09-04.pdf

Basis of Assessment

Scholarly proficiency is the main requirement for employment.

The holder of the position should be competent and experienced enough to be able to carry out independent research in the field of African Economic History. Documented background in the field, primarily proven through published work and a detailed self-assessment and research plan, is a requirement. The applicant needs to have experience in archival studies in general and familiarity with colonial archives for African colonies is a plus. Further, basic knowledge regarding how to extract, re-use and present statistics from data sets commonly used within development studies such as World Bank Development Indicators, UNU WIDER Inequality Database, etc. is required.

For appointment, the candidate must have demonstrated a high degree of research expertise as manifested in the quality of the PhD dissertation and other publications, preferentially in well-renowned international journals. Documented skills in working with both quantitative and qualitative data, historical and contemporary is required. We also look for high-level communicative skills, good time management, and the ability to interact with the research community and building networks and to actively participate in joint activities at the department and within the research group for African Economic History.

The application must include a research plan where the applicant presents her/his own ideas for research to be conducted.

In addition to the above, the following set of criteria will be applied in the assessment of candidates:

• high proficiency in the English language
• international experience
• other results and distinctions which attest to the applicant's ability to do research
• ability to engage and inform society at large about research

The evaluation will take personal qualities, such as academic independence, willingness to collaborate, and communication skills, into consideration.

Terms of employment

This is a full-time, fixed-term employment of two years. The period of employment is determined in the agreement “Avtal om tidsbegränsad anställning som postdoktor” (“Agreement on fixed-term employment as a postdoctoral fellow”) between the employer organization and the union organizations (http://www.arbetsgivarverket.se/avtal--skrifter/avtal/avtal-om-tidsbegransad-anstallning-for-adjungerad-larare2/).

Application procedure

Please apply online.

Applications should be written in English and must include:

1. Cover letter
2. Curriculum Vitae
3. Research plan
4. Publications including publication list
5. Certificates, references, etc.