ETCP Postdoctoral Research Fellowship

13 Aug 2019
13 Aug 2019



The Economics of Tobacco Control Programme is based in the newly-established Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products (REEP) in the School of Economics at the University of Cape Town. The Programme does research on a variety of aspects related to the economics of tobacco control, including the following: estimation of price elasticities of tobacco products, the role of the excise tax structure and level on consumption, the response by the tobacco industry to tax and legislative changes, estimating the size of the illicit market and ways to curb illicit tobacco. The Programme comprises about ten researchers and a number of support staff. The website of the Economics of Tobacco Control Programme can be found at www.tobaccoecon.uct.ac.za.

With funding made available by the UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund, the Economics of Tobacco Control Programme is a partner of the Tobacco Control Capacity Programme (TCCP). See https://ukctas.net/overview.html. The TCCP aims to develop research capacity in five African and two Asian countries by supporting postdoctoral and early career researchers in the economics of tobacco control. The focus of the TCCP programme is on tobacco taxation, illicit trade and tobacco industry interference. A crucial aspect of the programme is that it encourages a high degree of interaction between research fellows and their supervisors/mentors across the different countries.

The Economics of Tobacco Control Programme would like to appoint a postdoctoral fellow, starting as soon as possible, till December 2021. This call is open to all PhD graduates who have achieved a doctoral degree in Economics no more than 5 years ago. The successful applicant will need to have demonstrated strong technical ability in econometrics, statistics and quantitative work, specifically in a microeconomic context. We also expect the successful candidate to commit to this postdoc position till the end of the programme (i.e. December 2021), subject to good performance. Applicants whose PhD research was focused on macroeconomics would have to explain why they want to make the switch to microeconomics in the postdoctoral programme. The position would entail international travel.

Conditions of Award:

Postdoctoral research fellowships are only available to individuals who have achieved the doctoral degree within the past five years.
Applicants may not previously have held full-time permanent professional or academic posts.

The successful candidate will be required to:
  • indicate, via the required letter of application, his/her understanding of the intent and purpose of the funding programme, interest in health economics, as well as his/her desire to become an academic leader in Africa;
  • register as Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Economics at UCT;
  • enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with her/his Principal Investigator and adhere to the plans and agreements therein;
  • comply with the University’s approved policies, procedures and practices for the postdoctoral sector, and
  • be active in the activities of the TCCP and the Economics of Tobacco Control Programme.


Value and Tenure:

The Fellowship is valued at R360 000 per year and is tenable till December 2021. The successful candidate will be subject to a performance evaluation after one year and the continuation of the fellowship is subject to satisfactory performance and the availability of funding.

Academic Criteria:

Applicants must:

  • have demonstrated an interest in academic research;
  • be able to demonstrate strong technical, econometric and statistical knowledge and skill;
  • have demonstrated evidence of research output such as working papers, with published journal articles an added advantage.


Applicants are required to submit IN A SINGLE PDF DOCUMENT:

  • a letter of application;
  • a CV including details of any conference presentations, working papers and/or publications;
  • academic transcripts; and
  • the names and contact details of 2 academic references who have taught/supervised the applicant.

Potential applicants are encouraged to contact current postdoctoral fellows and other staff members of the Project for more information about the positions and the Project (see the ETCP website for details).

Applications should be directed to Sharon de Bruyns, sharon.debruyns@uct.ac.za by no later than mid-day (SA time) 16 August 2019.

Selection Process:
Short-listing and selection will be completed the Director of REEP and a core team of REEP members.

Short-listed applicants will be required to make themselves available for interview.

The University of Cape Town reserves the right to;
(i) disqualify ineligible, incomplete and/or inappropriate applications;
(ii) to change the conditions of award and/or to make no awards at all; and
(iii) to cancel, withdraw the award and to recover any funds paid out to award-holders who do not comply with the conditions of award and/or the University’s policies on postgraduate funding.

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