Project title: Understanding the links between intrahousehold dynamics and individual and household debt

Primary supervisor: Dr Silvia Avram (University of Essex)

Second supervisor: Dr Laura Fumagalli (University of Essex)

University: University of Essex, Institute for Social and Economic Research

SENSS Theme: Justice, Institutions, and Social Change

Collaborative partner: Money and Pensions Service

Collaborative partner supervisor: Jair Munoz-Bugarin

Degree structure: The structure of the studentship offered will depend on your personal training needs. However, the minimum duration of a SENSS-funded studentship will be 3.5 years: this covers a PhD and a mandatory placement of approximately 3 months. The maximum duration of a studentship will be 4.5 years: this covers a Masters degree followed by a PhD, as well as the mandatory 3-month placement.

Project background

This PhD will use administrative and survey data to examine accumulation and management of debt from an intrahousehold perspective. The study of debt dynamics has often been hampered by a lack of good data. This project will take advantage of newly available high-quality longitudinal data on individual and joint debt holdings to fill an important gap in our knowledge of how decisions about debt are made.

The project is a collaboration between the University of Essex and the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) (https://maps.org.uk/en). MaPS is an arms lengths body sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions whose mission is to help people improve their financial wellbeing, by ensuring access to high quality money and pensions guidance and debt advice. The successful applicant will join a highly experienced interdisciplinary team led by Dr Silvia Avram and including Dr Laura Fumagalli and Dr Jair Munoz-Bugarin. The position will be based at the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex. The project includes a 3-month placement at MaPS during which time the student will have the opportunity to directly interact with stakeholders in the debt advice sector and to gain first-hand experience of how MaPS uses evidence for policy making.

Project aims and objectives

The research project aims to

  • examine the evolution of debt holdings (including bill arrears), savings and spending in couples where one of the partners has significantly higher pre-existing credit commitments, paying particular attention to how gender differences in these commitments impact on the outcomes of interest;

  • document the evolution of debt holdings in the aftermath of relationship breakdown, paying particular attention to how joint credit commitments are managed;

  • study the impact of gender norms and differences in risk aversion on couples’ decisions to acquire and manage debt

  • use the insights gained in (i) to (iii) to draw out implications for policy and practice that can be used by MaPS in its work with debt advice providers, creditors, civil servants, and other stakeholders in the sector.

The successful PhD candidate will be fully involved in all aspects of the research including reviewing the existing evidence, managing the data, implementing the analysis, and writing up the results. It is expected that the project will result in several academic publications and that the PhD candidate will be a co/author on all of them. The PhD candidate will also have the opportunity to be involved in a number of impact and knowledge exchange activities linked to the project.

Training opportunities

A comprehensive package of training will be agreed in consultation with the supervisors. Elements of training will be provided by the supervisors, the University of Essex, and by other providers. The studentship includes funding earmarked for training activities. The student will have to complete the Safe Researcher Training (SRT) course offered by the UK Data Service. This is a requirement to access the safe environment housing the data.

Essential and/or desirable attributes/skills

We are seeking a highly motivated individual from sociology, economics, finance, statistics, demography, psychology, or related discipline

Essential criteria:

  • Experience/knowledge of basic statistical methods, including regression methods

  • Good analytical skills

  • Ability to work in a team

  • Data used in this project is accessible only from premises at the University of Essex; the applicant must be willing to regularly travel to the Colchester campus

Desirable criteria:

  • Prior experience using STATA or R

  • Knowledge of advanced statistical methods and techniques

  • Prior experience working with large datasets

  • Good oral and written communication skills

  • Masters graduate from sociology, economics, finance, statistics, demography, psychology, or related discipline.

Studentship details

This studentship is advertised as being between +3.5 and +4.5-year (1+3.5, 2+2.5, +4.5) awards. The standard length of an ESRC-funded studentship is +3.5. This includes the standard +3 PhD, plus an +0.25 term for the integrated placement with MaPS, and a further additional +0.25 to enable you to complete any training relevant to the research project (including career progression). This studentship can be undertaken either on a part-time or a full-time basis.

The studentship award covers your university fees and provides you with a stipend of £19,237 per year (for 2024-2025 academic year). You will also be able to apply for additional funding via the SENSS Research Training Support Grant to support your training needs.

 Residential eligibility

All applicants, whether Home or International, are eligible for a full award, that is, they will receive a stipend (salary) and they will not have to pay any university tuition fees during their studentship award.

How to apply for this studentship

To be considered for this funding, you must first apply to SENSS for this collaborative studentship. Please read the SENSS Collaborative Studentship Application Guidance Notes before completing the online application form. The Guidance Notes are available here.

If your application is accepted by SENSS, you will need to make a separate application for a place to study at The University of Essex as your host University. You will be provided with a link with information on how to make your application to The University of Essex once the SENSS proposal has been accepted. 

Deadline:

The deadline for submitting your application for SENSS funding on HEIApply is 12:00 GMT on Monday 24 February 2025. No extensions to this deadline will be permitted.

For further enquiries:

For enquiries about this research project, please email Dr Silvia Avram at savram@essex.ac.uk

For enquiries related to your eligibility for this studentship, and/or the application process, please email: Laura Ruddick at laura@essex.ac.uk.

The likely interview date for this studentship will be Monday 10 March 2025 (am).