International Center for the Study of Institutionsand Development (ICSID)

The Higher School of Economics International Center for the Study of Institutions and Development (ICSID) in Moscow, Russia invites applications for a postdoctoral research position with a focus on using the economic history of Russia to explore a wide range of contemporary debates in institutional economics.

A growing literature uses the past to test theories elaborated within the fields of institutional economics and political science. Russia, with its long history, profound variation in institutional environments across time and space, and rich historical data is still underexplored within this literature despite its strong potential for important contributions. Our center seeks an inquisitive researcher to join current efforts to make use of the Russian case to explore important questions related to economic development, property rights protections, and social trust. Current projects undertaken by the center include work on the long-term consequences of both extractive and inclusive institutions, including serfdom institutions, Alexander II’s liberal reforms, and Soviet-era political repressions and forced resettlements, as well as economic and political outcomes of ethnic and religious diversity. Our center explores these questions using a combination of extensive datasets constructed using historical yearbooks of Russian government statistics on demographics, human capital, agriculture, manufacturing from the XIX and XX centuries and modern datasets, such as surveys. Selected candidates can join these existing projects or propose new ones of mutual interest. We are particularly interested in candidates looking to integrate other sources, like RIStat historical statistics database, Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS), World Values Survey, or Life in Transition Survey with our data to explore new topics.

 

·        working in a research group with Ekaterina Borisova, Denis Ivanov and Andrei Govorun;

·        pursuing independent research in parallel with working on ICSID’s research projects;

·        writing research papers for international peer-reviewed journals in co-authorship with the members of the Institute;

·        participating in and organizing events and making other contributions to the Institute’s development;

·        presentations of the candidate’s own research on seminars and conferences in Russia as well as other countries.

·     a PhD degree from an international research university in such fields of social science as: economics, history, sociology, political science, public policy or government;

·     a strong background in the fields of economic history and institutional economics; publications, working papers or a job market paper in the field will be a plus;

·     interest in studying Russia or other ex-Soviet nations;

·     strong quantitative skills, ability to carry out research using Stata/R/similar software to meet standards of academic journals in economics or political science;

·     knowledge of GIS software is a valuable asset;

·     programming skills are a valuable asset;

·     ability to understand and communicate in Russian is not required but will be a plus;

·     social skills and the ability to work in a team.

General conditions for Post-Doctoral Research positions can be found here . Appointments will be normally made for one year.

 

A CV, research statement and two letters of recommendation should be submitted directly via online application form by April 1, 2016. Please note that direct applications to the hiring laboratory may not be reviewed.