Applications are invited for two postdoctoral researchers to work on a 5-year project ‘Who Counts? Incorporating a ‘missing minority’ to re-examine the profile, drivers and depth of poverty across Europe’. Funded by the European Research Council, WHOCOUNTS aims to improve understanding of the nature and prevalence of (deep) poverty across Europe. The successful candidates will work in collaboration with the PI (Dr Daniel Edmiston) to develop and deploy new datasets on a non-trivial minority of the European population that are currently ‘missing’ from income surveys used to construct official statistics on poverty and disadvantage. Specifically, the two postdoctoral researchers will:
Contribute towards the development of new datasets on the living standards of the non-private-household population across selected European countries.
Undertake data imputation to improve the accuracy of poverty estimates and better understand the changing extent, profile and depth of poverty.
Draw on adjusted and unadjusted datasets to conduct fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis and modelling to examine poverty determinants.
Identify conceptual, methodological and policy lessons emerging from empirical analysis.
Collaborate with the rest of the project team (including 5 other postdoctoral researchers) on research and dissemination activities.
Co-author research outputs and present at academic events (domestic and international).
The person specification (qualifications, skills and experience) can be found here.
The Project and Host Institution
Whilst those living outside of private households are often part of the inferential population in poverty debates, they are not part of the target population and thus sampling frame of European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC). This undermines our ability to examine the full incidence, composition and causes of poverty because many of this ‘missing minority’ exhibit some of the worst social outcomes across Europe. Such practices reflect a set of theoretical and normative judgments about who counts when it comes to researching poverty and social policy. WHOCOUNTS will correct for noncoverage error in official EU statistics to provide new and necessary information on the social groups often rendered invisible through official statistics. As such, this project promises a step change in our conceptual, methodological and substantive analysis of (deep) poverty, and will offer future lessons on how poverty statistics can be improved to support better-informed policy interventions.
The project will be carried out at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) – the top university in Spain according to the QS World Rankings 2023 – which offers excellent facilities and opportunities for career development. You will be based in the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology and affiliated to the Institute of Government and Public Policy.
Terms of Employment
The successful candidates will preferably start between February and July 2024 depending on their availability and residency status. They will be employed on a full-time basis with a gross salary of €38,000 per annum. The posts are available for 2.5 years with the option of extension to 4.5 years. The successful post-holders will be based in Barcelona at the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain. They will benefit from an excellent research environment and additional financial support to attend conferences and external meetings. A dedicated training budget is also available to support the professional development of post-holders.
Application Process
Candidates are encouraged to submit informal enquiries to Dr Daniel Edmiston directly. To formally apply for this position, please go to https://tauler.seu.cat/pagDetall.do?idEdicte=466519&idens=11. Please also submit the following documentation in one integrated pdf to Daniel.Edmiston@uab.cat and write “WHOCOUNTS Application” in the subject line of your email:
A motivation letter detailing the knowledge, experience and skills that make you suitable for the position (maximum 2 pages)
A CV, including the names and details of two academic referees (maximum 4 pages)
A writing sample (published or unpublished)
Copies of relevant academic certificates
The deadline for applications is 24th December 2023. No academic referees will be contacted without the prior permission of applicants.
Further information
Informal enquiries should be directed to Dr Daniel Edmiston Daniel.Edmiston@uab.cat.