University of Southern Denmark

Position Title/Short Description

Full Text of JOE Listing:

The Department of Economics at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, Denmark, invites applications for a one-year full-time Postdoc position as part of the project “Wartime Medical Education and Disruptions to Physician Labor Supply: Impacts on Physician Quality, the Health Transition, and Innovation (WarMED),” funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark (Danmarks Frie Forskningsford) and led by Associate Professor Anthony Wray. The research project will use machine learning techniques for automated transcription of digitized historical records to create a database of physician biographies. The starting date is flexible, but we hope to welcome our new colleague on 15 August 2024.

Job Description

The Department of Economics is an international department with a strong tradition for excellence in research and teaching within the various fields of economics. The research, teaching, and dissemination activities at the department are organized within four groups: Econometrics and Data Science; Economic History; Macroeconomics; and Microeconomics. A more elaborated description of the department and the groups can be found on the department website.

It is the aim of the department to conduct research of the highest international standard documented through 1) publications in internationally distinguished journals, 2) presentations at international conferences, 3) external funding from competitive programs and 4) dissemination with high visibility and broad societal impact.

The department emphasizes high-quality research-based teaching using the most relevant teaching methods to enhance students' learning and the department explicitly articulates our view on studying economics at SDU, which can be read here.

The department is responsible for the undergraduate as well as the graduate programmes in Economics and Mathematics-Economics at campus Odense. Also, the department is responsible for economics courses at different campuses at the University of Southern Denmark. The research activities (and the workplace) are situated in Odense.

It is important for the department that applicants have good interpersonal skills and are dedicated to take part in the daily academic and social interaction of the research groups and at the department. 

The Postdoc will be part of the Economic History group and will be affiliated with the Historical Economics and Development Group (HEDG). HEDG focuses on research in Economic History with a strong quantitative focus. HEDG is internationally acknowledged as a leading research group and attracts substantial grants and media coverage, as well as publishing books and peer-reviewed journal articles with top outlets.

The candidate will join an international team of researchers and will be involved in a research project on medical education and innovation in health care in the US during the first half of the 20th century.

Knowledge and/or research interest in machine learning techniques and economic history or other related fields in applied microeconomics will be an advantage. This is an excellent opportunity for recent PhD graduates to apply machine learning and causal inference techniques to the digitization and analysis of large-scale historical data, and benefit from a well-funded interdisciplinary research environment.

The successful candidate is expected to contribute to a high-quality research environment by pursuing an independent research agenda and by joining a research project involving Anthony Wray (PI), Christian Møller Dahl (co-PI), and an international team of researchers.

Further information about the position can be obtained from Anthony Wray, e-mail: wray@sam.sdu.dk. 

Online interviews for the position will be scheduled between January 15 and January 31, 2024.