BSE Research Assistant

Organisation/Company Barcelona School of Economics Research Field Economics › Political economy Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Master Positions Application Deadline 16 Oct 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Andorra) Country Spain Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 37.5 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Reference Number CEX -S Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Prof. David Andrés-Cerezo is looking to hire a research assistant to work with him at the Barcelona School of Economics on a project studying the relationship between multinational companies (MNCs) and conflict in the mining sector. The project develops a dynamic political economy model of the interaction between multinational mining firms, host governments and domestic opposition, and combines it with an empirical analysis of investment and violence in mining regions, with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa.

The position is primarily oriented towards the empirical side of the project, which accounts for the bulk of the work. Depending on the profile of the successful candidate, it may also involve contributing to the theoretical component.

On the empirical side, the research assistant will be responsible for building, documenting and quality-checking firm- and property-level datasets for the mining sector, starting from processed commercial corporate data (S&P Capital IQ Pro) and linking it to other project data sources.

The main tasks of the position are:

• Cleaning and processing raw corporate and ownership data and organizing it into a consistent mining property-year panel.
• Constructing variables on company presence and ownership structure at the mining property level over time.
• Linking the resulting datasets to georeferenced data and to other project data sources.
• Producing documentation and replication code, computing descriptive statistics and running quality checks on the assembled data.

In addition, and depending on the profile of the candidate, the position may involve supporting the theoretical component of the project:

• Solving the model numerically, using dynamic programming and simulations in Python and/or MATLAB.
• Reviewing and checking analytical derivations and proofs.
• Testing the robustness of the results to changes in the assumptions of the model, and exploring its predictions across different institutional and market settings.

The candidate will be supervised by Prof. David Andrés-Cerezo. The successful applicant should have the following skills:

• Proficiency in Stata for data cleaning (for S&P and other data).
• Basic Python skills (optional but helpful).
• Familiarity with QGIS and/or R for managing spatial data.

Additionally valued, but not required:

• Solid training in microeconomic theory, in particular game theory, dynamic models and contract or bargaining theory.
• Ability to solve and simulate models numerically in Python and/or MATLAB.

The applicant will join a vibrant Economics community in Barcelona and have opportunities to get involved with the academic life at the Barcelona School of Economics. This is a full-time position running from Monday 23 November 2026 to 31 January 2027 . The gross salary is €1,835 per month (reference for a full-time research assistant: €22,020 annual gross), amounting to approximately €4,404 gross for the full contract period (including the pro-rata final payment).

The project is one of the BSE Seed Grants 2026, one of the initiatives of the Severo Ochoa accreditation, supported by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) through the Severo Ochoa Program: Grant «Excelencia Severo Ochoa» CEX -S funded by MICIU/AEI/ / /.

• Proficiency in Stata for data cleaning (for S&P and other data)
• Basic Python skills (optional but helpful)
• Familiarity with QGIS and/or R for managing spatial data
• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail
• Desirable: solid training in microeconomic theory — game theory, dynamic models, contract or bargaining theory
• Desirable: ability to solve and simulate models numerically in Python and/or MATLAB

Specific Requirements

• Clarity and precision in coding
• Well-organized data structures
• Ability to work independently, document your work and meet deadlines

Languages ENGLISH Level Excellent

Research Field Economics Years of Research Experience 1 - 4

Additional Information

• Good research and learning environment
• Work flexibility
• Possibility of remote work

Eligibility criteria

B