At the University of Göttingen -Public Law Foundation-, Department für Agrarökonomie und Rurale Entwicklung, there is a position as:

Research assistant / PhD student (all genders welcome)

Entgeltgruppe 13 TV-L/65% to be filled. Starting date is as soon as possible. The position is limited to 3 years.

The project

The advertised position is part of the DFG-funded research project ‘Designing effective policy instruments for sustainable land transformation’. The rapid expansion of oil palm monocultures in Indonesia has been associated with economic development, but also with major environmental repercussions. It is crucial to identify strategies to reconcile these trade-offs. In this project we aim to use economic experiments in the field to investigate the role of providing monetary and non-monetary incentives to smallholder farmers for fostering a sustainable land use transformation in Indonesia.

Your tasks

The doctoral researcher will conduct research on the effectiveness of different attributes of Payments-for-Ecosystem-Services schemes to induce adoption of sustainable land use practices, and will explore the relevance of experiential learning as an education tool to increase environmental awareness, values and pro-environmental behavior. The tasks include:

  • Design and implementation of field experiments in Jambi, Indonesia
  • Empirical analysis of quantitative data using statistical and econometric methods
  • Presentation and publication of research results 

Your profile

  • Outstanding Master degree in Agricultural Economics, Development Economics or a related discipline
  • Strong analytical skills and experience with quantitative research methods; work experience with economic or behavioral experiments is a plus
  • Proven interest in topics related to rural development economics and economic incentives or extension services
  • Willingness and ability to work under field conditions in the tropics (rural Indonesia); work experience in the tropics is a plus
  • Interest in interdisciplinary cooperation; experience of working in intercultural and interdisciplinary teams is a plus
  • Excellent command of the English language

The position is based in Göttingen (Germany) but requires traveling and extended research stays in Indonesia. The position is intended to qualify young scientists and offers the opportunity to prepare a PhD thesis. The position is recruited in the research group of Prof. Dr. Meike Wollni. For more information about the Chair Group please visit: https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/108411.html. Your complete application package should include motivation letter, CV with the contact details of two referees, university certificates and transcripts, and a 1-2 page summary of your Master thesis.

The University of Göttingen is an equal opportunities employer and places particular emphasis on fostering career opportunities for women. Qualified women are therefore strongly encouraged to apply in fields in which they are underrepresented. The university has committed itself to being a family-friendly institution and supports their employees in balancing work and family life. The University is particularly committed to the professional participation of severely disabled employees and therefore welcomes applications from severely disabled people. In the case of equal qualifications, applications from people with severe disabilities will be given preference. A disability or equality is to be included in the application in order to protect the interests of the applicant.

Please upload your application in one pdf file including the usual documents until 1/15/2024 on the application portal of the university using this link: https://obp.uni-goettingen.de/de-de/OBF/Index/74322. For more information get in touch with Adriana Bernal-Escobar directly via E-Mail: adriana.bernal@uni-goettingen.de, Tel. +49 5513924835. 

Please note:

With submission of your application, you accept the processing of your applicant data in terms of data-protection law. Further information on the legal basis and data usage is provided in the Information General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).