PhD position in Economics with a specialization in AI and the Future of Taxes

The Department of Economics is one of the largest departments within the Faculty of Social Sciences, with approximately 100 employees from a dozen countries. Each year, around 1,000 students participate in undergraduate (BA), graduate (MA) and PhD level courses. The department’s research primarily focuses on labour economics, macroeconomics, political economics and public economics. Researchers at the department are frequently engaged as experts by the government and by the media, and interact with the society in a number of ways.

We are currently seeking a PhD candidate to join the doctoral program at the Department of Economics and become part of the national graduate school WASP-HS.

The PhD Program prepares you for an academic career as well as for qualified positions in the private and public sectors, where our alumni hold important positions throughout society. We offer an intellectually stimulating research environment with several research seminars each week and a large flow of international guests.

Duties/Project description

This PhD position is based at the Department of Economics, Uppsala University. You will be part of both the national graduate school WASP-HS and the Uppsala Center for Fiscal Studies (UCFS), a research center focused on public economics. The department also has close collaborations with the Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy (IFAU) and hosts the research cluster “AI, Structural Change and the Future of Work.”

The Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program – Humanity and Society (WASP-HS) is a national research program in Sweden. The vision of WASP-HS is to foster novel interdisciplinary knowledge in the humanities and social sciences about AI and autonomous systems and their impact on human and social development. WASP-HS enables cutting edge research, expertise, and competence building in the humanities and social sciences.

The research is conducted within the project “AI and the Future of Taxation.” The project analyzes how the tax system can be adapted to the transformation of production and labor markets brought about by artificial intelligence (AI), with a focus on efficiency, distribution, and long-term fiscal sustainability. The research will, among other things, examine how AI and automation affect the tax base and the financing of the welfare state, how tax systems create distortions in firms' technology investments, and how optimal taxes and transfers can be designed to balance efficiency with a fair distribution of the potentially large economic gains from technological development.

As a PhD candidate, you are expected to contribute by developing new theoretical models and conducting empirical analyses based on extensive register data.

The project is led by Professors Spencer Bastani, Eva Mörk, and Oskar Nordström Skans.

The PhD position is four years of full-time studies. Other departmental work, such as educational or administrative can be part of the position (max 20%). You are expected to be active both within the research environment in economics and within the WASP-HS graduate school. You can read more about the PhD program at the Department of Economics here.

Requirements

General admission requirements:

For admission to the PhD Programme, the applicant must have completed at least 240 ECTS-credits of coursework (four years of full-time studies), including at least 60 ECTS-credits at the advanced (master) level (one year of full-time studies), or have acquired the equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

Specific admission requirements:

The applicant must have at least 90 ECTS-credits in economics (three semesters), or have acquired the equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad. The candidate should have strong analytical skills, collaborative skills and an interest in conducting cutting-edge research of the highest international standard.

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

How to apply

Required documents for the application:

• A CV.
• Personal letter (max. two pages) in which you describe why you want to enroll in the PhD Programme in Economics at Uppsala University and engage in this research project.
• Attested copies of all qualifications, including all completed academic courses and academic degrees.
• Copies of essays that you have authored.
• Contact information for two academic references (address, email address and telephone number).

Salary: According to local agreement for PhD students

Starting date: 2026-01-12 or by agreement.

Type of employment: Temporary position according to Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7

Scope of employment: 100 %

For questions about the PhD Programme and the employment, please contact: the Director of PhD Studies, Mikael Bask, mikael.bask@nek.uu.se.

For questions about the project, please contact: Professor Spencer Bastani, spencer.bastani@ifau.uu.se, Professor Eva Mörk, eva.mork@nek.uu.se, or Professor Oskar Nordström Skans, oskar.nordstrom_skans@nek.uu.se

Please submit your application no later than 2025-10-07, UFV-PA 2025/2521.

Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? If so, you will find a lot of information about working and living in Sweden at www.uu.se/joinus. You are also welcome to contact International Faculty and Staff Services at ifss@uadm.uu.se.