PhD Special Call: Household finance with a focus on decisions under risk and/or ambiguity

Aarhus BSS Graduate School, Aarhus University invites applicants for a PhD Scholarship in connection with the research project "Household finance with a focus on decisions under risk and/or ambiguity" at the PhD Programme Economics and Business Economics.

The position is available from 1 September 2024 (or as soon as possible thereafter).

The research project

Aging societies and recent financial crises have highlighted the importance of household decision-making in influencing financial markets and determining aggregate economic activity. The research area of household finance focuses on finding and better understanding important aspects of household financial decision-making and their interaction with the broader economy. Research results are relevant to households, financial intermediaries, policymakers, and regulators.

The Ph.D. project particularly focuses on the interplay of individuals’ behavior and uncertainty in household finance. For most economic decisions individuals may make, several parameters and estimates may be ambiguous, i.e., imprecise, or unknown. Particularly, experimental research has shown that people are averse to such ambiguity, and theoretical researchers have pointed out that different levels of ambiguity or ambiguity aversion affect households' decision-making. Empirical research on the effect of ambiguity on the financial decisions of households is still scarce. The Ph.D. projects are supposed to explore additional dimensions of the impact of ambiguity on households and, potentially, institutions.

The PhD position is funded by the “Center for Research in Decision Making under Risk and Ambiguity” (CentR-A) headed by Steffen Meyer and hosted by the Department of Economics and Business Economics. The Carlsberg Foundation funds CentR-A for a period of five years. The center conducts independent research in the field of household finance and ambiguity. CentR-A is starting in the fall of 2024. International researchers will also be affiliated with the center, and the center will organize several research-related activities, such as workshops and seminars throughout the project period.

Job description

The Ph.D. student will join the Ph.D. program at Aarhus BSS and be closely affiliated with CentR-A and the finance section. Steffen Meyer heads the Center, consisting of two Ph.D. students, two postdocs, affiliated researchers from the finance section of Aarhus BSS, and international researchers.
You will work independently and with other researchers, writing papers and analyzing data on research questions relevant to the PhD project. Funding for presenting research results at international conferences or subscribing to additional databases is likely available.
Coursework and teaching are also part of the PhD position.

Your qualifications

We expect you to have a strong quantitative background in finance, economics, and econometrics, excellent analytical skills, and a curiosity to explore new and innovative research projects. We also expect you to be sincerely interested in household finance and decision-making under risk and ambiguity. The work will be empirical, using data from administrative sources and databases the department or the center subscribes to.

Further information

For further information about the position, please get in touch with Steffen Meyer, Email:
[email protected].

If you need help uploading your application or have any questions about the recruitment process, don't hesitate to get in touch with HR supporter Ulla Prisholm Bjørn Email: [email protected].

Place of work

Fuglesangs Allé 4, 8210 Aarhus V


Formal requirements

You can read more about how to apply in the application guide and find the rules and regulations of the PhD education here.

The following criteria are decisive in the assessment of the candidates:

• the applicant’s academic qualifications (assessed on the basis of the qualifying degree)
• the quality and relevance of the project proposal
• the applicant’s level of academic aptitude and assessed ability to complete the project within the framework of the PhD programme

You can read more about the assessment procedure and committees appointed by the dean here.

Applicants are very much encouraged to supply documentation as to how they rank compared to their class (both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees). This may for example be in the form of a letter from your University stating either how you rank as an individual student compared to other students the year you graduated ("ranks as no. 6 out of 111" or "ranks as among the best 8 percent") or if that is not possible, general information from your University as to how grades were distributed in the year of your graduation, will be appreciated.

Please note that Aarhus BSS Graduate School reserves the right to evaluate the applications on the basis of the documentation received before deadline, and you will not necessarily be asked for further documentation. Furthermore, Aarhus BSS Graduate School reserves the right to reject application that do not comply with the limitations as stated in the application guide (see link above).
Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.


Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/