Supervised by Prof. Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay and Dr. Allan Beltran, together with the Environment Agency.
To apply for this studentship, please submit your application using this link
Waste crime is a significant issue in England, contributing to climate change and costing the economy £1 billion annually through the illegal disposal of an estimated 34 million tonnes of waste. In 2022, the Environment Agency (EA) conducted over 2,500 investigations, leading to 93 prosecutions, £1.2 million in fines, and custodial sentences. The PhD student will use econometric and experimental methods to investigate how waste crime behaviour in England can be deterred, drawing on insights from deterrence theory. The PhD project will directly support the EA’s efforts to combat illegal waste management by improving the design and evaluation of enforcement strategies, ultimately contributing to reduce greenhouse emissions and the impact of climate change and thereby protecting the environment and communities, and helping the circular economy. Overall, the project will provide valuable insights into how enforcement signals influence criminal waste behaviour.
The PhD student will be jointly supervised by Prof Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay and Dr Allan Beltran from the Department of Economics at the University of Birmingham (UoB), alongside Matthew Hess, Senior Evaluator at the Environment Agency (EA). The programme will have a duration of four years starting in October 2025, and students must successfully complete compulsory advanced-level modules in their first semester, including Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Econometrics, and Research Methods.
Throughout the studentship, the PhD candidate will collaborate closely with the Evaluation Team at the EA. As part of this project, the PhD student will also have the opportunity to undertake a placement in the EA’s Evaluation Team, with opportunities to collaborate with other relevant teams, such as the Environment & Business Waste Crime Teams. This engagement will provide the student with a comprehensive understanding of waste crime policy and operational enforcement.
We are looking for a highly talented and dedicated PhD student with a 1st class or 2:1 degree in the field of Economics, or a related quantitative discipline. An MSc degree in a relevant area such as Behavioural Economics, Environmental Economics or Data Science is desirable though not necessary. Previous experience with research related to criminal behaviour, behavioural economics, or econometric analysis is desirable.
Informal enquiries about the project prior to application can be directed to Allan Beltran, a.i.beltranhernandez@bham.ac.uk