PhD positions at the Department of Economic History

The Department of Economic History conducts education on undergraduate level, graduate level and research level. At the department, about 40 teachers and researchers operates, as well as about 10 PhD students. The education on research level is in association with the National research school in Economic History.

Duties and Project descriptions
The Department of Economic History is advertising at least three PhD positions, with starting date 12 January 2026. All three positions are part of specific research projects.

Research level education comprises four years, full-time, corresponding to 240 higher education credits, of which the PhD thesis constitutes 165 credits and courses 75 credits. The education is financed through a combination of scholarship funds during year 1-3 followed by a doctoral student position during year 4.

The following projects are searching for one PhD student each:

Project 1. Creating value of hazardous waste: recycling in the automobile industry, 1970-2020s
While reuse and recycling have always been part of human practice, post-war consumerism led to an unprecedented increase in the volume of waste and made Sweden one of the leading per capita waste producers in Europe in the 1970s. Parallel to the growth of waste was the awakening of modern environmentalism and 30 years later, Sweden had transformed its economy to become a technological leader in advanced recycling services, not only for household waste, but also for complex industrial waste, such as the recycling of automobiles and household appliances. In today's large-scale transitions in the automotive industry, a deeper understanding of adaptability, flexibility, as well as inertia and inactivity, is central, especially in relation to complex and hazardous materialities such as battery cell production.

By looking at the dynamics of the past, this project intends to highlight the challenges and opportunities for future paths by examining the materialities, industrial organization and policies behind the growth and transformation of the recycling sector in the Swedish economy from 1970 to 2020. The project is based on a historical approach to understand the conditions for the recycling and manufacturing industries by uncovering long-term processes. The basis for this project is the construction and analysis of largely unexplored archival material as well as rich material in the form of a series of reports produced by the Swedish authorities. As a Ph D. student, you are expected to study the drivers behind the transformation of scrap trading and processing firms into high-tech recycling firms, and how the market has been consolidated into a limited number of large players. The scaling and consolidation of the market structure will be explored by focusing on the key players that have remained in business during the study period.

Project qualifications: background in economic history, history, history of ideas or similar disciplines. Documented experience of archival research and qualitative methods is qualifying for the position.

More information: project leader Daniel Normark, Daniel.normark@ekhist.uu.se

Project 2. Economic Outcomes of the ‘Entrepreneur’ during the Expansion of the Welfare State
To what extent do the self-employed represent a productive force in the economy? The share of self-employment—by contrast to wage earners—in the labor market over the past 100 years has followed a U-shaped curve: high levels before World War II, low levels during the mid-20th century welfare-state expansion, and then back to high levels again in recent decades. In this project, the PhD student will apply econometric techniques on micro-level data to investigate the causes of, and effects stemming from, the sharp decline in self-employment during the mid-20th century.

The project involves digitizing Stockholm’s tax and population registers, covering the entire population of Stockholm from 1940 to around 1970, in collaboration with other researchers at the Department of Economic History. These registers contain highly detailed individual-level information on income from self-employment and wage work, as well as occupation and industry. The data will be processed automatically using machine-learning methods through a model already developed within the project.

Project qualifications: A relevant background includes a degree in economic history, sociology, data science, economics, political science (or a related field). Documented skills in econometrics/statistics and/or data science are meritorious.

More information: project leader Jakob Molinder, jakob.molinder@ekhist.uu.se

Project 3. The managing of the Swedish banking crisis 1990-2005
Despite the fact that there is an extensive literature on government intervention in banking crises, we know very little about the work carried out by the hundreds of civil servants, lawyers, accountants, management consultants and other experts to implement the decisions on intervention made at the political level. This knowledge gap is problematic because the work, judgment, organization and decision of these individuals strongly influence the forms, scope, consequences and costs of state’s banking crisis management. In this project, this is investigated by studying the managing of the Swedish banking crisis in the early 1990s, based on extensive archival studies, interviews and witness seminars.

Project qualifications: Relevant background is a degree in economic history, business administration, history, political science, finance, sociology, economics, (or similar).

More information: project leader Mikael Wendschlag, mikael.wendschlag@ekhist.uu.se

Qualification requirements
Entry for third-cycle (doctoral) programmes require both general and specific eligibility, These should be upheld before being formally accepted to the program. The general entry requirements for third-cycle (doctoral) programmes are:

• academic degree at an advanced (Master´s) level, or
• attainment of at least 240 higher education (HE) credits for courses, of which at least 60 HE credits are awarded in the second cycle, or
• equivalent training either in Sweden or abroad.

Additionally, admission to the third-cycle programme in Economic History also requires: 

• attainment of 90 higher education credits for courses in Economic History at any level, or
• completion of equivalent training either in Sweden or abroad.

Qualified persons must master English in speech and writing. Applicants not fluent in Swedish are expected to learn Swedish during their time as PhD students. For some specific projects, it may be required that the applicant masters Swedish from the beginning. PhD candidates are expected to work on campus, participate in departmental activities such as seminars, workshops, etc., and actively contribute to the research environment.

Applications can be written in Swedish or English, and should be submitted via Uppsala University´s electronic application system, and consist of:

• A completed application in Varbi
• A Curriculum Vitae
• A general description (maximum 1 page) on why you are applying to the PhD program.
• A specific motivation (maximum 3 pages) which of the research projects you are interested in, how you would perform the thesis work and what makes you particularly suitable (in the form of studies, work experience) for the particular PhD project.
• Certified transcript(s) alternatively copy of your academic record/degree(s) to date that verifies the general and additional requirements
• One copy of your academic theses and other independently authored scholarly texts (from bachelor and master degrees or equivalent academic papers)
• Contact details for two academic reference persons, primarily teachers and/or supervisors
• Declaration of language proficiency: State which languages you are fluent in, and specify whether you are able to participate in academic discussions in English
• Other documents you may wish to submit
  
  

Assessment procedure
Admittance of a doctoral student is based on an assessment of the candidate´s ability to benefit from third-cycle studies. The main emphasis is laid on the scientific quality of the texts/thesis submitted by the applicant. The applicant´s education, work experience and research plan are also weighed in.

A recruitment committee first makes a shortlist selection on the basis of the submitted files, after contacts with references. The shortlist is discussed within the supervising committee and a small group of candidates is selected for interviews. The interviews will be carried out in September/October by representatives of the department, on campus or via Zoom. During the interview, the applicant will receive information about the competition for the different announces positions, and how his/her profile has been assessed in relation the the different projects. The applicant will have an opportunity to ask about the projects and state his/her preferences. After the interviews a final decision is made. The shortlisted applicants will be individually informed of the results of this selection process shortly afterwards.

More information concerning doctoral education, requirements and rules for admission can be found at http://www.uu.se/utbildning/utbildningar/forskarutbildning.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date 12 January 2026 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala.

For further information about the position, please contact: Head of research professor Anders Ögren, anders.ogren@ekhist.uu.se or Director of research level studies, Tom Petersson, tom.petersson@ekhist.uu.se

Please submit your application by 15 September 2026, UFV-PA 2025/1988.

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