Research Assistant in Economic History

The Department of Economic History and International Relations at Stockholm University is hiring a research assistant in economic history for a fixed-term position. The department is part of the Faculty of Social Sciences and has approximately 70 employees and around 500 students per academic year. Research and teaching are conducted in various fields, primarily focusing on economic history and international relations.

More information about the department can be found here: The Department of Economic History and International Relations.

Main responsibilities

The applicant’s main responsibilities will be to assist in data collection in a research project on the historical development of living standards in the British Caribbean region within the framework of the project "From bondage to the free labor market: wages, prices and living standards in the Caribbean for a century after emancipation”. The project is financed by the Swedish Research Council, is granted for four years (2024-2028) and ends thereafter. 

The main tasks for the research assistant position include collection and registration of quantitative empirical data from historical, handwritten source material in English from the period 1830 to 1945. In addition, the applicant may assist in preliminary analysis of the compiled data. 

The applicant will be working closely with two members of the research project.

Qualification requirements

We are looking for someone who has completed or is currently enrolled in higher level education in social sciences and/or the humanities preferably a field associated with economic history, economics, history, demography and/or social history. The applicant must:

• have an excellent knowledge of English
• have a very good command of Excel spreadsheets
• be able to work independently as well as collaboratively.

It's also merited if you have previous experience of: 

• working with similar or other archival handwritten material from the 19th century
• in creating and handling large quantitative datasets similar to the current project
• of statistical software, in particularly STATA
• in the use of OCR software.

Terms of employment

This is a part time position of 50 % for a period of three months, with the possibility for extension. Salaries at Stockholm University are determined individually. Start date 2025-02-09 or after agreement.

Stockholm University strives to be a workplace free from discrimination and with equal opportunities for all.

Contact

Further information about the position can be obtained from Dimitrios Theodoridis, dimitrios.theodoridis@ekohist.su.se.

Application

Apply for the position at Stockholm University's recruitment system. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is complete and that it is submitted before the deadline.

The instructions for applicants are available at: How to apply for a position.