Description du sujet de thèse

1- This Doctoral grant is allocated by the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) for 3 years from October 2025 to August 2028 for excellent applicants in Health Economics, Development Economics & Public Health with a transdisciplinary approach.

The PhD will be part of the project “Insecticides for vector control and child development: trade-offs between pesticide use and malaria prevention” (VECTOR). The thesis will be an article-based thesis, while maintaining overall coherence on the theme. The specific project is financed by the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale.

2- Context & topic:
Although malaria incidence has declined during the last decade, the risk of dying from this disease remains alarmingly high in sub-Saharan Africa (see WHO calls for revitalized efforts to end malaria, 25/04/2025). In addition to preventive medications, early diagnosis, and chemoprophylaxis, the cornerstone of malaria control relies on the use of insecticide-treated bed nets or indoor residual spraying (IRS), where insecticides are sprayed directly inside homes. Between 2016 and 2018, approximately 578 million treated nets were distributed, and 93 million people were protected through IRS. However, these strategies raise important public health concerns. Some insecticides, such as DDT, have been banned for decades in high-income countries due to their persistence in the human body and in the environment, as well as their associated health risks. Studies have also shown that exposure to pyrethroids—a widely used class of insecticides—is linked to harmful effects on child development (see e.g. Qui et al., 2022). Among the most exposed children, researchers observed lower verbal memory and comprehension, greater difficulty with emotional expression, and so-called atypical social behaviors.
While the full health impact of large-scale insecticide use remains under-documented, preliminary data suggest that sub-Saharan children are widely exposed. Moreover, although the effectiveness of malaria control strategies has been demonstrated, it remains imperfect. The project takes place in Benin and Mozambique. In Benin, for instance, despite nearly 80% of children sleeping under insecticide-treated nets, over half (51.2%) still had malaria by the age of six.

- Household choices and decision-makers: Since malaria also has dramatic effects on children's health, education and development, families' choices of protection or exposure may not be so obvious. How do families make their health choices? Faced with simultaneous health and environmental risks, how do families choose their prevention strategy? What are the long-term health consequences of these decisions? And how can optimal policies be designed? To help local populations make the right choice, the project will combine an epidemiological and economic approach, to better understand the determinants of decision-making, and their health and political implications.

3- Field work coupled with theory: Interviews will be carried out, in conjunction with local teams, to assess families' understanding and perceptions of malaria and insecticides, family interactions, and nutritional and health habits. A multi-generational model combining epidemiology and economics will then be used to determine which factors (costs, opinions, culture and beliefs, family characteristics, risk perception, knowledge of pathologies, etc.) predominate in the choices made by parents. The analysis will make it possible to study the impact of exposure to malaria or insecticides on the education and (neuro)development of children and adolescents (see e.g. Zoumenou et al., 2023).

4- General organization of the thesis: The thesis will be based on econometric and economic modeling and data analysis. It will study data from two large mother-child cohorts in Benin and Mozambique, where insecticides for vector control are widely used. The secondary exploitation of a large-scale randomized study is also anticipated. Finally, data from complementary retrospective surveys may be mobilized to complete these analyses. The successful candidate may be required to travel in the field or to various laboratories. In addition, the selected candidate will have the opportunity to teach.

👉This PhD project could thus provide essential public health data & analysis to improve the fight against malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa, while preserving children's development.

Contexte de travail

5- The Doctoral School and the laboratory: EDGE | Ecole doctorale Economie & Gestion & CREM |Centre de Recherche en Économie et Management (CREM, UMR CNRS 6211)
- The Doctoral School of Economics and Management Sciences (EDGE) brings together the research community in economics and management sciences in Brittany. Each year, it trains and supports about a hundred doctoral students enrolled in the co-accredited institutions in conjunction with the Collège Doctoral de Bretagne and the research laboratories.

- The recruited candidate will be based at the Rennes site of the Centre de Recherche en Économie et Management (CREM, UMR CNRS 6211). CREM is a multi-site laboratory (Caen and Rennes), currently employing over a hundred researchers. The research carried out at CREM covers many fields of study in economics and management, including public decision-making, institutions, human resources, entrepreneurship, macroeconomic policies, banking and finance, risk perception and choices in uncertain environments. CREM also boasts CREM-Tech, a technical platform for data, codes and methodologies, a Laboratoire d'Expérimentation en Économie et Management (LABEX-EM) and a consumer neuroscience laboratory (Neuro-LAB), enabling laboratory and field experiments to be carried out.

6- Supervision: This position will be supervised by Josselin Thuilliez (Director of Research, economist at CNRS-CREM UMR 6211) in link with other researchers on the project team, in particular Nouhoum Touré (Associate Prof. at Paris 1 University).

Contraintes et risques

7- Eligibility and selection criteria :
Application should be submitted only through the CNRS portal.

The examination takes place in two steps: a selection based upon application and an interview end June, 2025 (only shortlisted candidates). Selected candidates for interview will be notified by e-mail.

8- Documents required from candidates:
- CV.
- Letter of motivation.

9- Desired level:
- Master 2 Research in applied econometrics or data science; Grandes Ecoles.
- Solid background in econometrics/economics.
- Experience in data management and analysis.
- Experience in fieldworks would be a plus.

10- Operational skills:
- Ability to work in a team within an international collaborative project (in French and English).
- Ability to formalize techniques and methods.
- Ability to write reports and documents.
- English proficiency for non-native speakers (800 points for TOEIC test or equivalency in another international test such as Cambridge or TOEFL).

11- Methods & tools to be mastered:
- Applied econometrics.
- Behavioral and economic modeling.
- Cost-effectiveness analysis.
- Proficiency in Stata & R (Scilab/Matlab/Mathematica would be a plus).

12- Potential Areas & knowledge:
- Applied econometrics & statistics (in-depth knowledge)
- Health economics (in-depth knowledge)
- Development Economics (knowledge)
- Public economics (knowledge)
- Data science (knowledge)
- Behavioral sciences (knowledge)
- Epidemiology (knowledge)
- Environmental economics (knowledge)
- Interest for pluridisciplinary approach (Economics, Public Health and Epidemiology).

13- Calendar
- Submissions open: April 28th, 2025
- Deadline for applications: June 15th, 2025
- Interviews: End June, 2025
- Decisions on acceptance: Mid July, 2025
- Start of Ph.D.: October or November, 2025