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
with 75%part-time job
limited to 3 years
salary grade (Entgeltgruppe) 13 TV-L FU
reference code: PubSaveBank_Postdoc_2026_E
Requirements:
Desirable:
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)
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application over an unencrypted connection.
Freie Universität Berlin is an equal opportunity employer.
ID: 203064