Post-doctoral scholarship (2 years) in Mathematical Economics and Finance

The Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics offers a postdoctoral scholarship within the project “Strategic Real Options with Applications to the Use, Pricing and Trading of Quota for Fishing Rights”. The scholarship is full-time for two years with a starting date of May 1st, 2025, or by agreement. 

Project description
Unregulated fisheries suffer from the so-called 'tragedy of the commons', the problem that if many agents have access to a finite, valuable resource, they will tend to overuse it, and economic values will be eroded. To avoid this, fishing quotas are installed, governed by what is considered to be the economic and sustainable optimal catch quota. In many cases, these quotas can be traded as financial assets, but there are many questions:

1. How do quota markets for fishing rights change the incentive structure and operation of fisheries?
2. Which principles should be applied to price fishing quotas consistently with financial theory?
3. How can fishing quota markets help individual agents in the fishing sector to better deal with the substantial risk and uncertainties in this business?
4. In the presence of risk and uncertainty, the classical literature underestimates the values of fishing quota due to ignoring the option value of the quota, but by how much?
5. In the context of multi-species and biodiversity what can be the contribution of fishing quota trade or other relevant contracts to support sustainability?
6. In a more general context of strategic competition, how can contracts be optimally designed such that the problem of option value erosion can be eliminated as much as possible? And how can these contracts be implemented within a fisheries-specific context?

More generally, recognizing that fishing quotas have option-like characteristics and that there is a significant level of strategic competition in the fisheries sector, the project will also examine a more general but abstract setup of real options under strategic competition, drawing on classical findings by Back and Paulsen (2009) and Grenadier (2002) and the literature developed around these classic contributions.  

The scholarship holder will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in research issues close to the project leader, Professor Christian Ewald, at Umeå University, and co-leader Professor Bart Taub, University of Glasgow. The postdoctoral fellow will be given the opportunity to be involved in all parts of the project.  

The postdoctoral fellow will be located at the Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics in Umeå and will be financed by the Kempe Foundations (JCSMK24-0135).  The tax-free scholarship will be SEK 750,000 for two years, which means SEK 375,000 per year.

Qualifications
To qualify as a postdoctoral scholarship holder, the postdoctoral fellow is required to have completed a doctoral degree or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree. This qualification requirements must be fulfilled no later than at the time of the decision about scholarship recipient.

Priority will be given to candidates who completed their doctoral degree, according to what is stipulated in the paragraph above, no later than three years prior. If there are special reasons, candidates who completed their doctoral degree prior to that may also be eligible. Special reasons include absence due to illness, parental leave, appointments of trust in trade union organizations, military service, or similar circumstances, as well as clinical practice or other forms of appointment/assignment relevant to the subject area.

The doctoral degree should be in mathematics, economics or be deemed to provide equivalent academic competence.

Documented knowledge and proven experience working with real or financial options, stochastic optimal control theory, and relevant simulation and implementation with Matlab, Python, C, or other programming languages are strongly required. Excellent programming skills in written and spoken English are also required. Documented scientific development and the ability to work independently and be part of a research are meritorious. Experience in interdisciplinary research projects and interdisciplinary collaboration, especially in the specific area of application, is meritorious.

Application
A complete application should include:

• A cover letter (max 2 pages) describing yourself, your previous research results and your own ideas about the project,
• Curriculum vitae (CV) with list of publications,
• Verified copy of degree certificate or documentation clarifying when the doctoral degree is expected to be obtained,
• Verified copies of other degree certificates, list of completed academic courses and grades,
• Copy of doctoral thesis and up to 3 relevant articles,
• Other documents that the applicant wishes to use,
• Contact information for two people willing to act as references.

The application must be written in English or Swedish. The application is made through our electronic recruitment system. Documents submitted electronically must be in Word or PDF format. Log in to the system and apply via the button at the end of this page. The deadline for applications is 28 February 2025.

Umeå University strives to offer an equal environment where open dialogue between people with different backgrounds and perspectives lay the foundation for learning, creativity and development. We welcome people with different backgrounds and experiences to apply for this scholarship, and especially encourage female applicants.

More information
Further details are provided by Prof. Christian Ewald, christian.ewald@umu.se

More information about the department: https://www.umu.se/en/department-of-mathematics-and-mathematical-statistics/

Welcome with your application!