Postdoc at University agent- modelling, financial systems

Civic Finance is an ambitious research project led by Prof. Javier Solana and funded by a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant (Grant Agreement No.: ). The overarching objective of Civic Finance is to develop a complexity-informed theory of law and finance that can underpin the foundations of a civic financial system; in particular, a financial system that refrains from enabling unsustainable levels of CO2 emissions.

To achieve this objective, Prof. Solana is putting together an interdisciplinary team of researchers interested in exploring how financial services influence CO2 emissions, and how financial institutions make decisions about the provision of those services.

To support Civic Finance, the School of Law is inviting applications from highly motivated and ambitious candidates for the position of Research Associate. The Research Associate will work closely with Prof. Javier Solana (Professor of Law and Finance) and other members of the Civic Finance team, and will engage with a small interdisciplinary group of world-leading scholars who sit on the project’s Advisory Board.

Working closely with Prof. Solana, the successful candidate will be responsible for collecting and analysing data on the different services that financial institutions provide to a specific group of high-emitting market actors, and for using relevant techniques to identify the most influential financial institutions (e.g. network analysis). The successful candidate will also be responsible for building an agent-based model to study the behaviour of financial institutions and other market actors, and the impact of different legal interventions on that behaviour.

Moreover, the successful candidate will be responsible for presenting these analyses in high-quality academic papers that will be submitted for publication at top-tier academic journals. Lastly, the successful candidate will also be expected to contribute to the formulation and submission of research publications and research proposals relevant to Civic Finance.

This full-time position is available from June 2026 until May 2029. While the preferred starting date is 1 June 2026 a different starting data can be accommodated depending on circumstances. For a detailed description of the main tasks and responsibilities, selection criteria, and ample opportunities that will be available to the successful applicant to plan and develop their career while in post, please visit this link:  .