PhD position: Individual Behaviour Under Climate Change Risks

at  Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

YOUR FUNCTION

The Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) has a new position for a PhD student in the field of behavioural economics. You will become part of a new interdisciplinary research programme (INSUREADAPT) funded by the European Research Council (ERC). This project aims to improve preparedness of households and businesses for multi-hazard climate change risks in the EU, such as floods and storms.

The PhD project will be supervised by Prof. Wouter Botzen, Dr Peter Robinson, and Dr Sanchayan Banerjee. You will also collaborate with other researchers who will be recruited for this project. Your main tasks are to:

• design and apply theories from the fields of behavioural science and psychology that explain why some people take effective measures to prepare for the various risks posed by climate change, whereas many others do not.
• implement surveys among households and businesses that empirically test these behavioural theories in various EU countries with varying climate risks.
• draw lessons for public sector policy makers and insurance companies that aim to stimulate individuals to better prepare for natural hazards posed by climate change, such as building-scale measures that limit damage to properties.

An important part of the ERC project INSUREADAPT is the integration of the insights from this PhD project in an agent-based model of climate change risks and human adaptation processes in collaboration with the project team. An inter- or multidisciplinary background and good communication skills are therefore important assets.

YOUR DUTIES

• you publish research results in international peer-reviewed journals
• you teach for 0.1 FTE in Bachelor and/or Master’s educational programmes and supervise Bachelor and Master students
• you contribute to project tasks, meetings and activities
• you present your research fundings, for example at international conferences

The PhD project will be supervised by Prof. Wouter Botzen, Dr Peter Robinson, and Dr Sanchayan Banerjee. You will also collaborate with other researchers who will be recruited for this project. Your main tasks are to:

• design and apply theories from the fields of behavioural science and psychology that explain why some people take effective measures to prepare for the various risks posed by climate change, whereas many others do not.
• implement surveys among households and businesses that empirically test these behavioural theories in various EU countries with varying climate risks.
• draw lessons for public sector policy makers and insurance companies that aim to stimulate individuals to better prepare for natural hazards posed by climate change, such as building-scale measures that limit damage to properties