PhD Student in Consumption-Based Footprinting of Competitiveness Policies
Develop innovative methods to quantify environmental impacts of policy scenarios in Luxembourg and the Greater Region.
Best for:Best for environmental scientists, economists, or social scientists with a strong background in input-output analysis, scenario modelling, and micro-economics, seeking to contribute to sustainable policy research.
Overview
This PhD position at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) focuses on advancing consumption-based footprinting to assess the environmental impacts of competitiveness policies. Embedded within the SUSTAIN unit and enrolled at the University of Luxembourg, the successful candidate will collaborate with a multidisciplinary cohort of 12 PhD researchers across social, economic, and environmental sciences. The role involves developing a methodological framework for prospective environmental impact quantification, applying it to policy scenarios like carbon fee-and-dividend schemes and mobility subsidies, and building an open, Python-based policy toolbox. The candidate will contribute to peer-reviewed publications, international conferences, and stakeholder engagement events, ensuring policy scenarios are grounded in realistic social and economic assumptions.
What you'll do
- Conduct a systematic review and critical assessment of existing multiregional input-output (MRIO) analysis and demand-side modelling approaches, including taxation, subsidies, and rebound effects.
- Develop a methodological framework for prospective quantification of environmental impacts of policy scenarios, integrating input-output analysis, scenario modelling, and micro-economic methods.
- Apply the framework to Luxembourg and the Greater Region under various beyond-growth and climate policy scenarios, producing quantitative footprint estimates at territorial scale.
- Build and maintain an open, modular, Python-based policy toolbox for testing individual and combined policy measures and their environmental outcomes across planetary boundary dimensions.
- Collaborate with other doctoral researchers to ensure policy scenarios are grounded in socially realistic and economically coherent assumptions.
- Publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals and present at international conferences.
- Contribute to C-SOS training activities, workshops, and stakeholder engagement events.
Requirements
Degree required: Master's degree or equivalent in Environmental Science, Economics, Social Sciences, or a related field
Degree offered: PhD
Language: English; excellent proficiency required
Instruction: English
- Proven expertise in input-output analysis or related quantitative methods
- Strong background in scenario modelling and micro-economics
- Proficiency in Python programming
- Experience with data analysis and statistical modelling
- Ability to work collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams
- No prior research experience required
- Open to applicants from any nationality
Funding & terms
How to apply
Deadline: 2026-11-29 (Europe/Amsterdam)
Applicants must submit their application through the external portal provided. The application should include a CV, a cover letter, a research proposal, and academic transcripts. Three reference letters should also be submitted. Ensure all documents are in English and meet the specified requirements.
- CV
- Cover letter
- Research proposal
- Academic transcripts (BSc + MSc)
- Three reference letters
Contact
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