PhD position Health Economics

Introduction

The Health Economics group of the Applied Economics Department is looking for a full-time PhD student starting on 1 September 2026. The topics of the PhD project will include: inequalities in health and health care; effects of diverse interactions on diversity-related preferences and on performance (and respective mechanisms); other possible topics (of mutual interest of the PhD student and supervisor) within health economics and at the intersections of health, behavioural, labour, and personnel economics.

Job description

This PhD project will include:

- Investigating different dimensions of inequalities in health and (quality of) health care (applying microeconometric methods to survey data as well as to linked administrative datasets).

- Testing the “contact hypothesis” (particularly, does diverse contact influence individual diversity-related preferences?) in a context where a diverse university student population works in exogenously formed teams. This research will use linked administrative and survey data.

- Using similar rich data, evaluating effects of team diversity on team performance (and several possible mechanisms through which they may operate). Other possible research topics include:

- Measuring and explaining accuracy of (health-related) beliefs that are relevant for a range of individual economic behaviours (eg, beliefs about own life expectancy, health care needs, retirement age).

- Other topics of mutual interest of the PhD student and supervisor within health economics and at the intersections of health, behavioural, labour and personnel economics, to be determined in coordination between the PhD student and the supervisors. This PhD position also involves:

- For candidates who have an MSc or MA degree (and not an MPhil or Research Master’s degree): successfully completing 1 year of courses at the Tinbergen Institute.

- Education tasks (comparatively low loads): teaching and thesis supervision, mostly within the Bachelor Programme Economics and Business Economics, including (applied) econometrics courses and the major “Health and Behavioural Economics”. The PhD student will be affiliated with the Tinbergen Institute and will be supervised by dr. Teresa Bago d’Uva and at least one other member of the Department of Applied Economics.

Job requirements

 General Requirements:

• MPhil or Research Master’s degree · MPhil or Research Master’s degree in Economics, Econometrics, Mathematics or Physics is preferred.
  • Candidates with an MSc or MA degree are required to successfully complete 1 year of MPhil courses (i.e., a Research Qualification) at the Tinbergen Institute.
• Excellent study results for both the bachelor and master’s degree
• Interest in and strong motivation for scientific research explained in a statement of purpose.
• Strong research interests within health economics (including inequalities in health and health care) and in topics related to diversity. Research interests in topics at the intersections of health, behavioural, labour, personnel economics are also valued.
• GRE test is required for all entering PhD students. Valid GRE (revised) General Test results are required from all PhD applicants (all 3 sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and Analytical Writing). Successful applicants typically perform among the top-10% of test-takers on the quantitative part of the GRE; applicants with a Q score below 160 will not be considered.
• Advanced quantitative skills, including experience with (coding in) a statistical package (e.g., Stata or R).
• Excellent command of English. Applicants whose native language is not English are therefore required to demonstrate English proficiency by:
  – proof that the language of instruction of their entire university education (bachelor and master programme) was English, or;
  – scoring at least 100 on the TOEFL iBT test or 7.5 on the IELTS test.
• Two (academic) reference letters, · Two (academic) reference letters, preferably from a thesis supervisor or research project supervisor. Please send them to doctoraloffice@ese.eur.nl after submitting your application form.
• Curriculum Vitae                                                          

Employment conditions and benefits

We offer you an internationally oriented and varied job in an enthusiastic team, with excellent working conditions in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU).

The start date of this position is 1 September 2026 and you will be based at Erasmus School of Economics (ESE). This position is for 1 fte. The salary ranges from a minimum of € 3.059 to a maximum of € 3.881 gross per month on a fulltime basis (38 hours), in accordance with the CAO-NU. The PhD track lasts 3 (following an MPhil or Research Master) or 4 years (following an MSc). The intitial contract is entered into for the duration of 18 months. 

Everything else we offer you, you can find below!

-        Everything you need for a good work-life balance: the option to work from home in consultation with your manager, 41 days of paid leave with a 40 hour contract, 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a significant discount on a subscription for our on-campus sports centre!

-        Sustainable, inclusive and diverse work environment with an open culture, where you can be yourself and we pay attention to each other and to the world around us. Make the most of our bicycle budget, or join networks such as Young@EUR, FAME or QuEUR.

-        Time and space for your development in the broadest sense: development days and a personal career budget and free access to our university library.

-        Good pension with ABP that EUR contributes 2/3rds towards, discounts on various collective insurances with Zilveren Kruis Achmea, Loyalis, and Allianz, and compensation for travel, working from home and home internet use.

-        Are you currently combining your job with parenthood, or do you want to do so in the future? EUR offers partially paid parental leave and fully paid additional birth leave for partners, and our campus features a daycare (daycare not paid for by EUR).

-        Moving to the Netherlands for your job with EUR? Then you may be eligible for the 30%-ruling if you meet the requirements of the Belastingdienst (Dutch tax agency), and with our Dual Career Programme we will also help your partner find the right job for them.

Employer

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’. EUR is home to 4.100 academics and professionals and almost 33.000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way – Making Minds Matter. We’re global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR’s distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. www.eur.nl.

Faculty / Institute / Central service

Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) is a leading school in economics in The Netherlands. It has a strong international reputation and aims to do outstanding research. Moreover, it provides excellent education at the BA., MA. and Ph.D. levels. Much research at Erasmus School of Economics is policy relevant, has social impact, and offers a strong research culture, ample research resources, and comparatively low teaching loads.
www.eur.nl/en/ese

Group

This position is within the Health Economics group. This group is part of the Department of Applied Economics, together with the Strategy Economics and the Behavioural Economics groups. The Department offers a vibrant research environment with a focus on societally relevant economic questions. Many of its members are fellows of the Tinbergen Institute (one of Europe's leading research institutes and graduate schools in economics, econometrics and finance) and/or of the Erasmus Research Institute of Management (which gathers academics of ESE and of the Rotterdam School of Management, RSM). The Health Economics group is also part of the ESE Health and Labour Research Group (which is a collaboration with the Department of Economics), as well as of EsCHER - Erasmus Centre for Health Economics Rotterdam.

Additional information

Contact person about this vacancy:

Dr. Teresa Bago d’Uva (bagoduva@ese.eur.nl)

For questions about the application procedure please contact:

Lindsey Pijpers (PhD Officer) – doctoraloffice@ese.eur.nl 

Reference letters are not requested automatically and should be submitted to doctoraloffice@ese.eur.nl. Please send the reference letters (see requirements above) after filling in the application form.

Applying

Please submit your application, at the latest by 15 February, via the link below. 

Applications will be reviewed by the supervisors and recruitment committees. An interview could be part of the application process. Kindly note that we can only accept applications containing all the required documents and information. We look forward to receiving your application.

Persons of all gender identities or expressions, sexual orientations, religions, ethnicities, ages, neurodiversities, functional impairments, citizenships, or any other aspect are welcome to apply and join the EUR community.

For questions regarding the application procedure please contact Lindsey Pijpers (PhD Officer) at doctoraloffice@ese.eur.nl