PhD traineeship in the Business Cycle Analysis Division of the Directorate General Economics
Grade: Internship
Closing Date: Jun 22, 2026
Location: Frankfurt (Germany)
Occupational Groups: Operations and Administrations, Economics, Scientist and Researcher, Sustainable Business Development

General Information

Type of contract PhD traineeship

Who can apply? EU nationals eligible for our traineeship programme

Grant The trainee grant is €2,120 per month plus an accommodation allowance (see further information section)

Working time Full time

Place of work Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Closing date 22.06.2026

Your team

You will be part of the Business Cycle Analysis Division in the Directorate General Economics. Our Directorate General assesses and forecasts economic developments and provides policy advice on topical issues relevant to the euro area economy. Our analysis is published in the ECB’s Economic Bulletin, Occasional Paper Series and Working Paper Series, and The ECB Blog. 

Our Division consists of around 30 experts analysing and forecasting macroeconomic developments in the euro area. As part of our work, we develop tools for nowcasting economic activity, using state-of-the-art AI techniques including machine learning, text mining and big data processing. We investigate topics such as the role of household and firm heterogeneity in driving aggregate fluctuations; the impact of energy supply, economic and policy uncertainty, and tariffs on the behaviour of households and firms; and the macroeconomic impact of monetary and fiscal policies. The Division also conducts two major ECB surveys, the Consumer Expectations Survey and the Corporate Telephone Survey, which provide deep insights into the behaviour and dynamics of euro area households and firms. 

The ECB is an inclusive employer and we strive to reflect the diversity of the population we serve. We encourage you to apply irrespective of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or other characteristics.

Your role

As a PhD trainee you will:
  • conduct empirical and theoretical analysis using advanced economic and econometric models;
  • further develop analytical, econometric and forecasting tools under the supervision of ECB experts; 
  • report regularly to your supervisor and present the results of your project in internal seminars;
  • submit papers for publication in the ECB’s Working Paper Series and academic journals.

We are looking for PhD trainees to work on the following projects:

A.using household-level data (e.g. from the Consumer Expectations Survey) to explore the impact of households’ perceptions and beliefs on their consumption decisions;

B.applying quantitative and empirical methods that bridge the microeconomic and macroeconomic perspectives (e.g. heterogeneous agent models and functional or pseudo-VAR models) to analyse the aggregate and distributional impact of idiosyncratic and aggregate shocks;

C.developing a multi-country macroeconomic model with multiple industries and segmented factor markets to investigate the structural drivers of cross-country differences in shock propagation within the euro area;

D.developing time series models to investigate the role of economic agents’ expectations as a source and transmission mechanism of shocks to the economy.

You will be expected to complete your tasks using your own initiative and to work largely autonomously under the supervision of an expert. You will have access to relevant statistical and computing resources and the opportunity to attend most of the conferences and internal seminars organised by the ECB.

The traineeship offers you excellent opportunities to build on your skills using recently developed modelling and econometric techniques. You will be part of a multicultural team that strives for continuous innovation to make a positive impact on the lives of European citizens.

Qualifications, experience and skills

Essential: 
  • a master’s degree and at least two years of PhD studies in economics, finance, statistics, data science, engineering or a related field;
  • a sound understanding of and theoretical background in macroeconomics and the economic and institutional context in which the ECB fulfils its mandate;
  • excellent knowledge and proven experience of state-of-the-art modelling tools and econometric techniques or microdata work, such as those needed to conduct one of the projects listed above;
  • programming skills in one or more software packages, such as MATLAB, Stata, R or Python;
  • a good knowledge of the MS Office package;
  • an advanced (C1) command of English and an intermediate (B1) command of at least one other official language of the EU, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Desired:
  • experience in handling microdata and using microeconometric methods and models; 
  • experience in developing and estimating large macroeconomic models.

You are curious and eager to learn, and want to further develop your ability to analyse complex information. You are keen to collaborate with others, pursue team goals and learn from other people’s diverse perspectives. You strive to know and anticipate stakeholder needs, and will signal any need for change and propose alternative solutions.

You are motivated to contribute to the ECB’s mission, to serve the citizens of the EU as a member of a public institution and to work with colleagues from all over Europe. You are keen to be part of our team and to use your skills and competencies to achieve the aims of this position.

Further information

Initial PhD traineeship of between three and six months, with a possible extension to up to 12 months in total.

Other details on the conditions applicable to traineeships at the ECB can be found on our website.

Application and selection process

The recruitment process for this position will include an online interview. 

Further information on how to apply is available on our website.

If you are not selected for this position but are still considered suitable, you will be placed on a reserve list for 12 months from the closing date for applications, from which you might be considered for other traineeship positions within the ECB.

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