You will work as a PhD student within the Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA), one of the research departments of Maastricht University's School of Business and Economics (SBE). ROA has a leading position nationally and internationally in research in the field of education and the labour market. You will also be part of the Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE) that coordinates SBE’s PhD programme.

You will work in ROA’s research line ‘Labour Market and Training’, and focus on the labour market for the elderly, retirement decisions, and human capital development.

The aim of this PhD project is threefold. First, you will answer the question which role different kinds of pension information provision play in late career investments and savings intentions. Second, you examine in detail to what extent pension reforms in combination with technological change affect employment, retirement and savings behavior of older workers in the Netherlands, and how this interaction might exacerbate the effect of pension reforms.  Third, you will investigate how workers can be motivated to continue to invest in their human capital. For this PhD project you will make use of largescale survey data, register data for the full population of workers, and you will introduce 2 field experiments. To ensure the feasibility of these field experiments, the research team already has taken arrangements with major pension funds and social partners, on which the PhD student will build upon to further work out these respective experiments. Within the project, we will further collaborate with renowned scientists of Padua University (Italy).

Are you self-motivated, curious and interested in research? Do you have a record of high academic achievement in economics (e.g., good grades and/or involvement in academic activities) and the skills required to become an excellent researcher in your field? Then this PhD-student position at ROA might be the challenge you are looking for.

• You have a strong academic background and willingness to publish in high-ranking academic journals;
• You have excellent quantitative and analytical skills, as well as oral communication and writing skills;
• You have affinity with setting up field experiments in the field of education and labour and retirement;
• You have knowledge of statistical software (e.g., Stata, R);
• A preference is given to graduated economists / econometricians who have shown excellence in at least one (preferably more) of the following subjects: labour economics, education economics, public economics, (applied) micro-economics;
• A Research Master (or equivalent) is preferred.

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

Remuneration will be according to standard salary levels for PhD students starting with a salary of €2.434,00 with a yearly growth to € 3.111,00 gross a month (based on a full-time appointment). Each year the standard salary is supplemented with a holiday allowance of 8% and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3% of the yearly gross income.

You have to be willing to move to (the vicinity of) Maastricht. If you do not already live in Maastricht (or its direct surroundings), you will be eligible for an allowance for moving costs and a relocation reimbursement.

The terms of employment of Maastricht University are set out in the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO). Furthermore, local UM provisions also apply. For more information look at the website: http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl > About UM > Working at UM

Maastricht University and School of Business and Economics (SBE)

Maastricht University is renowned for its unique, innovative, problem-based learning system, which is characterized by a small-scale and student-oriented approach. Research at UM is characterized by a multidisciplinary and thematic approach, and is concentrated in research institutes and schools. Maastricht University has around 20,000 students and 4,700 employees. Reflecting the university's strong international profile, a fair amount of both students and staff are from abroad. The university hosts 6 faculties: Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Faculty of Law, School of Business and Economics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience.

Maastricht University is placed sixth place in the 2021 Times Higher Education (THE) 'Young Universities' ranking for best young universities in the world.

The School of Business and Economics (SBE) is a high-level European school in the fields of Economics and International Business Administration and is accredited by both the AACSB and EQUIS. The school is located in the heart of Maastricht.

The key characteristics of SBE are small-scale teaching methods, a portfolio of international study programs, and strong incentives for top-quality research. SBE attracts outstanding students from over 60 countries on its MBA, Bachelor, Masters, Ph.D., and executive education programs (all in English). Forty percent of the student population and thirty-five percent of the academic faculty come from outside The Netherlands.

SBE has been lauded among the best in the world when it comes to sustainability, ethics and social purpose, by business news outlet the Financial Times.

SBE of Maastricht University ranks currently 62 in the latest edition of the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings.

Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA)

The Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA) is a research institute of the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics, established in 1986. The overarching research theme of ROA is the acquisition and depreciation of human capital over the life course in relation to the dynamics of the labor market. ROA aims to do high level scientific research with a substantial policy impact. This dual mission is pursued in all research project, regardless of the type of funding (fundamental or commissioned research). ROA receives funding from scientific funds (e.g. NRO, NWO, NETSPAR, ORA, H2020), as well as from national and international authorities (Ministries, European Commission, OECD) and various other organizations such as training funds, educational institutes and regional governments.