The Institute of Social Studies in The Hague (part of Erasmus University Rotterdam) invites applications for three fully funded PhD positions in Development Studies commencing in September 2015. The positions will be part of the research project entitled ‘Aiding Social Protection: the political economy of externally financing social policy in developing countries (AIDSOCPRO)’, funded by the European Research Council under the Starting Grant scheme, which was awarded to Dr. Andrew Fischer in 2014 for a period of five years starting in May 2015.

The research project explores the political economy of international development assistance directed towards social expenditures, examined through an unexplored interaction between finance and politics in current international aid agendas that prioritise social protection in particular. The research will focus on six developing countries selected as ‘crucial cases,’ including two in Asia (Cambodia and Philippines), two in Africa (Ethiopia and Zambia), and two in Latin America (Honduras and Paraguay). The project addresses the question: given the complexities of externally financing domestic expenditures, how have current donor emphases of social protection influenced donor strategies of influence, donor-recipient relations, and domestic fiscal and monetary politics within recipient countries?

The three PhD researchers in this research project are not expected to research the specific financial intricacies of the finance-politics nexus of the project, which will be the primary task of the principal investigator (Dr. Fischer). Rather, their research will more broadly examine the political economy of social protection policy dissemination in two of the six country cases, both in one region, as a basis for a two-country comparative case study for their PhD. This more general focus will allow for a full consideration of alternative explanations that might contend with the hypothesis of the research and also for a PhD thesis that stands on its own as an individual piece of scholarship produced by the candidate. The PhD research is expected to involve extensive fieldwork in both of the country cases, supported by visits by the principal investigator.

The main supervisor (co-promoter) will be Dr. Andrew Fischer. As according to the Dutch system, one full professor will also be allocated as ‘promoter’. The PhD researcher will join the Political Economy of Resources, Environment and Population (PER) research programme at the ISS (see here) and will be fully integrated into the ISS PhD programme.

Further details:
http://www.academictransfer.com