Deadline: May 31, 2019
Application are open for the UNU-WIDER Summer School 2019. UNU-WIDER, in collaboration with the Development Policy Research Unit (DPRU) at University of Cape Town (UCT), is launching a new, two-week intensive Summer School on applied labour economics.
The course will take place in Cape Town during 18-29 November 2019. The aim of the training is to provide early-career scholars in the Global South with an understanding of the theories, methods and data availability for conducting high-quality analysis of applied labour economics.
Course Outline and Objective
The Summer School will provide participants with a toolkit in applied economics with special focus on the quantitative analysis of labour markets in developing countries. During the two weeks, participants will take part in lectures given by leading experts from UNU-WIDER’s global network and work intensively in the data lab to strengthen quantitative research skills. Beyond providing a methodological toolkit using practical examples, one of the main aims of this course is to sensitize participants to the key factors that make high-impact publications (including innovativeness, ability to make causal claims/deal with issues of endogeneity, and policy relevance, amongst others).
Topics that will be addressed during the course include:
- Fundamentals in labour market economics for development: concepts and definitions
- Theories of labour markets in developing countries: segmented markets, policies and institutions
- Inequality, poverty, and employment: main statistics, regression-based decomposition techniques
- Labour statistics: data sources, quality, core indicators
- Applied econometric methods for causal identification:
- quasi-experimental (propensity score matching, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity design, difference-in-differences)
- experimental: randomized control trial, lab-in-the-field
- Analysis of employment transitions using panel data.
Financial Assistance
- UNU-WIDER will provide successful applicants with a travel grant to cover costs of travel to and from the home institution, accommodation, and most meals during the stay in Cape Town. Backoffice support will also be available to obtain an entry visa to South Africa.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be an early-career researcher and have shown ability to conduct research on developing economies;
- Applications from PhD candidates who are about to complete the dissertation will also be considered;
- Candidates should be fluent in oral and written English and possess good quantitative analytical skills;
- Application is open to researchers from universities and research institutes in Africa and other developing countries in Latin America and Asia;
- Applications from suitably qualified early-career female researchers are particularly encouraged.
Application
Please take note that the following documents are required when submitting your application:
- CV
- A research study you have (co-)authored (preferably published)
- Letter of recommendation. This document must be submitted by its signatory to [email protected] before 1 June and you must provide her/his name in the application
- A short research proposal that you would be able to concretize during the two-week course
For more information, visit UNU-WIDER Summer School.
