MSCA POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS AT VU FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN FINANCE AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (Uncertainty; Monetary and Fiscal Policy; Spillovers; Open Economy Macroeconomics; Nonlinearities)

Vilnius University (VU) invites motivated researchers with a strong track record to prepare joint applications for 2024 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA PF) call with a deadline on September 11, 2024. MSCA PF are among the flagship, most prestigious research fellowships in Europe, with the objective of supporting researchers’ careers, enhancing their creative and innovative potential, and fostering excellence in research.

• European Postdoctoral Fellowships are open to researchers of any nationality who wish to engage in R&I projects by either coming to Europe from any country in the world or moving within Europe (12-24 months).
• Global Postdoctoral Fellowships are open to European nationals or long-term residents who wish to engage in R&I projects with organisations outside EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries (12-24 months outgoing phase in a non-associated Third Country & 12 months mandatory return phase to a host organisation in Europe).
• Extra funding opportunity! If you apply for the European Postdoctoral Fellowship with the host institution located in a widening country (Lithuania), and in case your proposal is not funded under the MSCA PF call due to a lack of budget, it will be automatically resubmitted to ERA Fellowships call and will have one more opportunity to get funding.

HOST INSTITUTION AND RESEARCH GROUP

VU is one of the oldest higher education institutions in Eastern and Central Europe. It tops the ranking as the number one university in Lithuania and leads the country in education, a broad spectrum of fundamental and applied research, training and retraining programs, and consultancy services and provides research and development services to a wide range of businesses. VU offers dynamic research and training environment and is well integrated into a collaborative network of international universities.

The supervisor is based at Center for Excellence in Finance and Economic Research (CEFER) of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration – a joint venture by VU and the Bank of Lithuania, which aims to conduct and publish high-quality research in relevant fields of economics and finance.

The CEFER team of PhDs specializing in fields ranging from macro-economics to financial markets seeks to combine its extensive academic knowledge with innovative methods in economic research. Focus is always placed on the novelty of ideas and methods used allowing the researchers to creatively define relevant research problems and solutions.

SUPERVISOR

Dr. Povilas Lastauskas is the Senior Research Fellow in Vilnius University and Director of Studies in Economics at Homerton College, University of Cambridge, UK. With a rich academic background, he previously held the position of Assistant Professor in Applied Macroeconomic Analysis at Queen Mary University of London, UK, and served as the director of studies and fellow in economics at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, as well as a bye-fellow at Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge. His academic journey includes postgraduate degrees (MPhil and PhD) from Trinity College, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge, laying a strong foundation for his subsequent roles in academia and policy.

Beyond his academic roles, Dr. Lastauskas has initiated and led innovative educational programs, notably spearheading the establishment of a modern, English-taught Bachelor's program in Quantitative Economics in Lithuania. He has also advocated for reforms in PhD studies and contributed significantly to the Baltic Economic Association, serving as its President in 2021/2022. On the policy front, Dr. Lastauskas has contributed his expertise to initiatives such as the ECB’s monetary policy review workstream and OECD advice for governments, showcasing his commitment to bridging academic research with real-world policy implications. His research was published in the Journal of International Economics, Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, European Economic Review, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, among others.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE AND PERSONAL SKILLS

The candidate should have strong background in macroeconomics, quantitative skills, econometrics, some programming skills (e.g., Matlab), and motivation.

POSSIBLE RESEARCH TOPICS

The suggested project aims to investigate uncertainty within economic policy, particularly focusing on its implications for monetary and fiscal policy. While traditional economic policies often revolve around forecasting future outcomes, the project's main objective is to delve into the impact of uncertainty on the quality of policy decisions, key shortcomings of existing models when variables are not observed on time or observed with high uncertainty, and the role of non-linearities. We would intend quantify uncertainty and its impact on economic outcomes, understand spillover effects, and work out optimal policy responses to uncertainty.

ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

• Supported fellows must be in possession of PhD at the call deadline (September 11, 2024).
• Have up to 8 years full-time equivalent experience in research from the date of award of the doctoral degree at the call deadline.
• Fellows must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the beneficiary (for European Postdoctoral Fellowships), or the host organisation for the outgoing phase (for Global Postdoctoral Fellowships) for more than 12 months in the 36 months before the call deadline

Detailed information on the eligibility can be found on p. 91-94 of the MSCA Work Programme 2023-2024.

HOW TO APPLY?

• Contact the supervisor Dr. Povilas Lastauskas, povilas.lastauskas@evaf.vu.lt, directly to express your interest in making a joint application based on your research interests. Do not forget to provide the following documents (cc to research@cr.vu.lt):
  - curriculum vitae
  - list of publications 
  - proposal summary
• Request a letter from your supervisor endorsing you as a candidate, and send it to the Research Projects Office (research@cr.vu.lt). The candidates who wish to participate in VU MSCA PF Webinar are kindly requested to submit their endorsement letters by May 31, 2024.
• After receiving your supervisor’s endorsement, you can start preparing your MSCA PF project proposal. Please note that in order to prepare and submit your application on time (by September 11, 2024), you can seek support from VU Research Projects Office (research@cr.vu.lt).

For more information follow the link.