Freie Universität Berlin
Zentralinstitut John-F.-Kennedy-Institut - Department of Sociology
The sociology department at the John F. Kennedy Institute teaches and studies the political
economy of the United States in comparative and historical perspective combining data-
driven computational approaches with informed institutional analyses of capitalism, insurance
finance, housing and welfare states while drawing on theories from Comparative Political
Economy, historical and economic sociology.
The Franco-German research project "Savings Banks and Public Credit Institutions: A
Historical and Comparative Perspective", co-financed by the German Research Fund and the
Agence nationale de la recherche (ANR), studies the historical evolution, institutional
diversity, and macroeconomic effects of savings banks and public credit institutions
(development banks) from the 19th century to today. It combines economic history, macro-
finance, and comparative political economy to construct new international datasets and
produce cutting-edge quantitative research on financial systems, crises, and long-term
development.
The postdoctoral researcher will play a leading scientific role in the project and is expected to
contribute to high-impact international publications in top journals in sociology, economic
history, political economy, or related disciplines. The position involves close collaboration
with the Berlin and Paris teams and supervision of research assistants
Research assistant (postdoc) (m/f/d)
with 75%part-time job
limited to 3 years
salary grade (Entgeltgruppe) 13 TV-L FU
reference code: PubSaveBank_Postdoc_2026_E
Tasks
- Lead the construction and harmonization of an international historical and regional dataset
on savings banks and public credit institutions (assets, liabilities, governance) - Collect, digitize, and document historical financial statistics from printed and archival
sources - Conduct econometric and quantitative analyses on financial crises, business cycles, and
macroeconomic outcomes - Co-author research papers targeting top academic journals
- Coordinate and supervise research assistants
- Present findings at conferences and contribute to dissemination activities
Requirements
Requirements:
- PhD in sociology, economic history, economicsfinance, political economy, political science,
or a closely related field
Desirable:
- Excellent written and spoken English, German and/or French are a plus
- Additional assets would be experience with OCR/digitization workflows and multilingual
skills - prior research on banking, credit, finance or related topics
- strong quantitative and econometric skills (panel data, time series, causal inference)
- Experience with large-scale data construction and empirical research
- Programming skills (R, Stata, or Python)
How to apply
Applications should be sent by e-mail, together with significant documents, indicating the
reference code, no later than April 27th, 2026 in PDF format (preferably as one document)
to Prof. Dr. Sebastian Kohl: sociology@jfki.fu-berlin.de or postal to
Freie Universität Berlin
Zentralinstitut John-F.-Kennedy-Institut
Department of Sociology
Prof. Dr. Sebastian Kohl
Lansstr. 7-9
14195 Berlin (Dahlem)
With an electronic application, you acknowledge that FU Berlin saves and processes your
data. FU Berlin cannot guarantee the security of your personal data if you send your
application over an unencrypted connection.
Freie Universität Berlin is an equal opportunity employer.
Facts
| Published | 01.04.2026 |
|---|---|
| Category | Postdoc, Research assistant |
| Location | Germany, Berlin |
| Area of responsibility | Law, administration and politics, Economics and management, Academia and research, Controlling and finance |
| Start date (earliest) | Earliest possible |
| Duration | limited to 3 years |
| Full/Part-time | with 75%part-time job |
| Remuneration | Entgeltgruppe 13 TV-L FU |
| Working language and expected level |
|
| Homepage | https://www.fu-berlin.de/ |
Requirements
| Field of study | Law, economics and social sciences, Political economy, Political science, Public administration, Sociology |
|---|
Contact
| Reference number | PubSaveBank_Postdoc_2026_E |
|---|---|
| Contact person | Prof. Dr. Sebastian Kohl |
Apply
| Application deadline | 27.04.2026 |
|---|---|
| Reference number | PubSaveBank_Postdoc_2026_E |
| By post | Freie Universität Berlin
|
| By email | sociology@jfki.fu-berlin.de |