Postdoc in economics

Infrastructure?: No

Offer Description

Position description

Position identification

Title of post : Postdoc in economics
Type of contract : Postdoctoral contract under public law as provided for in Article L.412-4 of the Research Code
Category (A,B or C) :
Contract/project period : 12 months Expected date of employment : December 1st 2026 or earlier
Proportion of work : 100%
Workplace : BETA (Bureau d’Économie Théorique et Appliquée)
Desired level of education : PhD
Experience required : Max 3 years of postdoctoral experience by the recrutement date
Contact(s) for information on the position (identity, position, e-mail address, telephone) :
Sina Badiei (sina.badiei@unistra.fr)

Date of publication : August 28th 2026
Closing date for the receipt of applications : October 10th 2026

Research project or operation

Since Kenneth Arrow proposed his impossibility theorem in Social Choice and Individual Values (1951), numerous theoretical debates have examined various strategies for circumventing his demonstration of the impossibility of any non-dictatorial social choice. These strategies often consist in weakening, in different ways, one of the theorem’s conditions: condition U (unrestricted domain), condition P (the weak Pareto principle), condition I (independence of irrelevant alternatives), and condition D (non-dictatorship).

The condition of the “unrestricted” or “universal” domain is the first step to guarantee “citizens’ sovereignty” by allowing any conceivable ranking of social alternatives, thereby recognizing the fully subjective character of individual preferences. This concept of subjective preferences has become central in economics since the subjectivist turn inaugurated by Vilfredo Pareto, and especially since Lionel Robbins’s famous Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science. Influenced by Ludwig von Mises, Robbins argues that, unlike non-scientific disciplines such as philosophy and ethics, which assess the normative foundations of how people choose or ought to choose, economics must treat preferences as given subjective facts that require no further evaluation.

In his analysis of the “unrestricted domain” in Social Choice and Individual Values , Arrow first examines Duncan Black’s work on single-peaked preferences. He concludes that such preferences show that “that mathematically, at least, it is possible to construct suitable social welfare functions if we feel entitled to say in advance that the tastes of individuals fall within certain prescribed realm of similarity” (Arrow 2012/1951, 81). He then gives a more substantive content to what similarity in the domain of individual preferences may imply by making a distinction between “social decisions” and "social ends”: “it could be held that, since ultimate ends arise out of biological and cultural needs, they are, in part at least, objective. … It may be that the biological and cultural basis of ultimate ends limits preferences about them sufficiently so that a social welfare function can be formed” (Arrow 2012/1951, 87).

Restricting the domain of preferences makes it possible to exclude preference profiles likely to generate contradictions with the conditions of Arrow’s theorem, since the impossibility theorem results from preference profiles that generate Condorcet cycles or require dictatorial decision-making. By eliminating these profiles, while still allowing a broad range of preferences to facilitate genuinely collective decision-making, one can construct non-dictatorial social welfare functions.

Although the contributions of social choice theory—and especially computational social choice—have been largely neglected by ecological economists, the idea that it may be legitimate to impose limits on the form of individual preferences strongly resonates with one of the most central theses of some ecological economists: Because almost all individuals prioritize the satisfaction of their basic needs over their subjective desires, public institutions should not hesitate to limit the pursuit of some subjective if doing so makes it possible to secure the satisfaction of basic needs for all, among which a sustainable environment.

This project, “A Historical Analysis of the Contributions of Theoretical and Computational Social Choice to Ecological Economics”, seeks to provide a historical assessment of strategies developed in social choice theory, computational social choice, and ecological economics that propose different ways of restricting, in a non-arbitrary and robust manner, citizens’ preferences when they are required to rank social ends. The project’s main objective is to highlight debates in theoretical and computational social choice that may reinforce ecological economics’ emphasis on the need to prioritize social ends compatible with environmental and ecological sustainability by excluding certain categories of individual preferences that may make the collective pursuit of such ends impossible.

Activities

• Description of the research activities :
  The project is financed by the University of Strasbourg's IdEx 2026 « Fonds d’appui à la recherche ». It will be conducted within the Bureau d’Économie Théorique et Appliquée (BETA), directed by Herrade Igersheim. Six current members of BETA will form part of the project team: Herrade Igersheim, Nathalie Picard, Philippe Gillig, Rémy Guichardaz, and two BETA doctoral researchers, Julie Audureau and Deniz Naz Demirel.
  
  The project aims to recruit, for one year beginning in December 2026 or earlier, a postdoctoral researcher with one to three years of postdoctoral experience and strong theoretical, philosophical and historical knowledge in at least two of the three disciplinary fields concerned by the project: social choice theory, computational social choice, and economic analyses of ecology and the environment. This person will collaborate with the project coordinator (Sina Badiei) and other members of the project and study the historical evolution of theoretical strategies aimed at restricting the role of individual preferences in the ranking of social ends. More specifically, the recruited researcher will examine how technical analyses within theoretical and computational social choice—dealing, for example, with single-peaked, single-crossing, and value-restricted preferences—could facilitate the prioritization of social ends compatible with environmental and ecological sustainability within economic analyses of ecology and the environment. The person recruited will devote their entire working time to their research activities in connection with the project.
  
  This project is closely connected to another project, coordinated by Roberto Baranzini (University of Lausanne) and Sina Badiei (University of Strasbourg) in collaboration between BETA and the Walras-Pareto Center of the University of Lausanne. The other project has received a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) examines the history of normative economics in the Lausanne School, Paretian welfare economics, and social choice theory. While the SNSF-funded project focuses on the history of normative economics during the first five decades of the twentieth century, the present project aims to complement it by examining, in particular, the history of normative economics since Arrow’s work, with a focus on how theoretical and computational work in normative economics might advance both theoretical and practical discussions of ecological and environmental crises.
• Related activities :
  Participation in BETA’s seminar, as well as national and international conferences

Skills

Qualifications/knowledge :
The successful candidate must hold a PhD in economics or the history and philosophy of economics, awarded no more than three years prior to the start of the contract.

The thesis and/or publications must demonstrate in-depth knowledge of one of the following research fields: social choice theory, computational social choice, ecological economics.

Operational skills/expertise :
The thesis and/or publications must demonstrate solid knowledge of computational and/or formal research methods. The candidate must be interested in the historical and philosophical aspects of theoretical debates.

Fluency in English.
Fluency in French is not required, but some basic knowledge is appreciated.

Personal qualities :
Willingness to work and collaborate with other memberes of the project

Environment and context of work

Presentation of the laboratory/unity :
A joint research unit of five organisms (CNRS, the Universities of Strasbourg and Lorraine, INRAE, and AgroParisTech), BETA is located across five sites: in Strasbourg and Nancy, and in Metz, Colmar and Mulhouse.

Since the laboratory’s creation, the research conducted at BETA has been guided by the desire to set out both the theoretical aspects as well as the practical applications of research in economics and management. Historically, the laboratory has been structured around several research groups, anchored in micro and macroeconomic theories and benefitting from the heritage of a long tradition in the history of economic thought.

Its identity is built upon a number of themes: the economics of innovation, the management of technologies and organizations, the evaluation of environmental assets, the study of the training–employment relationship, as well as the history of economics. In parallel with the development of the laboratory and wider changes in society, these themes have subsequently been enriched: the Law and Economics has become prominent, as has the economics of energy, of forests (with, in particular, the creation of an observatory for the economics of forests), and more broadly there has been a strengthening of the laboratory’s economic analysis of the transitions underway in the fields of energy, the environment, and demographics.

To apply, please send your CV, cover letter and diploma to : Sina Badiei (sina.badiei@unistra.fr)

Where to apply

E-mail: sina.badiei@unistra.fr

Requirements

Research Field: Economics
Education Level: PhD or equivalent

Internal Application form(s) needed
Recrutement_Post_Doctorants_Annexe1F.Fiche de poste.pdf (English, 122.1 KB - PDF)
Recrutement_Post_Doctorants_Annexe1G.Fiche de poste anglais.pdf (English, 123.11 KB - PDF)

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available: 1
Company/Institute: BETA (Bureau d’Économie Théorique et Appliquée)
Country: France

Contact

City: Strasbourg
Website: https://www.unistra.fr/
Street: 4 rue Blaise Pascal
Postal Code: 67000