The Covid pandemic has forced governments and central banks around the world to support their economies at an unprecedented scale. Despite, the fact that Covid is the second crisis in less than 15 years which triggered such large-scale fiscal and monetary policy intervention, the medium- and long-term effects of both policies are still poorly understood or underappreciated. Firstly, standard macroeconomic theory predicts a sharp rise in inflation because of expansionary policies, which however never materialised over the last 15 years. A list of prominent economists has highlighted this breakdown of inflation theory (Blanchard 2016, Ball and Mazumder 2018, Del Negro et al. 2020). Secondly, a well-established but in policy practice ignored fact is that fiscal and monetary policies are not neutral in terms of its effects on income, wealth and gender inequality. Which sector receives the stimulus has profound implications not only for the effectiveness of the stimulus but also for the distribution of jobs and incomes (De Henau and Himmelweit 2021, Onaran et al. 2021). Thirdly, unprecedented monetary expansion in the form of quantitative easing is seen as potentially suffering from serious unintended side effects in the form of exacerbating existing inequalities in the distribution of income and wealth as well as stimulating unsustainable debt accumulation (Evgenidis and Fasiano 2021, Mumtaz and Theophilopoulou 2017, Domanski et al. 2016).
This research will develop a novel theoretical framework to analyse the macroeconomic effects of large-scale fiscal and monetary interventions by synthesizing these three strands of the literature which previously have only been investigated in isolation.
We are seeking a fully-funded PhD student (3 years) to join the Institute for Political Economy, Governance, Finance and Accountability. We are looking for a graduate with a Master’s degree in economics or similar social sciences. Your research will be expected to culminate with a PhD dissertation after 3 years.
For further information please contact the supervisor: Dr Rafael Wildauer, [Email Address Removed]
Duration: 3 years, Full Time Study or 6 years, Part Time Study
Funding information
Bursary available (subject to satisfactory performance):
Year 1: £15,609 (FT) or pro rata (PT) Year 2: In line with RCUK rate Year 3: In line with RCUK rate
The successful candidate will receive a contribution to tuition fees equivalent to the university’s Home rate, currently £4,500 (FT) or pro-rata (PT) for the duration of their scholarship. International applicants will need to pay the remainder tuition fee, currently £11,000, for the duration of their scholarship. This fee is subject to an annual increase. Scholarships are available for three years, full-time study from the date scholars first register as an MPhil/PhD student with the university. Applicants must meet the programme entry requirements.
For additional information about the scholarship please go to: https://www.gre.ac.uk/research/study/research-studentships-and-scholarships
Please read this information before making an application. Applications need to be made online via https://www.gre.ac.uk/research/study/apply/application-process. No other form of application will be considered.
All applications must include the following information. Applications not containing these documents will not be considered.
• Scholarship Reference Number (VCS-FBUS-03-21) – included in the personal statement section together with your personal statement as to why you are applying
• a research proposal *
• a CV including 2 referees *
• academic qualification certificates/transcripts and IELTs/English Language certificate if you are an international applicant or if English is not your first language or you are from a country where English is not the majority spoken language as defined by the UK Border Agency *
*upload to the qualification section of the application form. Attachments need to be in PDF format.
The closing date for applications is midnight (UTC) on 1 November 2021
The scholarship must commence before 31/01/2022.