Call for Proposals: The Impact of COVID-19 on Households and Firms in the MENA Region

Submission Deadline: December 15, 2020

I. Introduction:

Economic Research Forum Research (ERF) and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) are pleased to announce a call for proposals on “The Impact of COVID-19 on Households and Firms in the MENA Region.” Selected authors will present their papers during a workshop in September 2021. Interested researchers are invited to submit their proposals by December 15, 2020.

II. Research topics:

Papers are invited to address topics related to the impact of COVID-19 on households and firms. Proposals can be cross-country or focused on a single country. Possible research questions may include, but do not have to be confined to:

1. How has COVID-19 affected income inequality? What changes in income generating capacity and for whom are behind the shifts in income inequality?
2. How has COVID-19 affected populations in the informal economy and have their livelihoods been differently affected? How have policy measures for informal workers been applied across countries?
3. How has COVID-19 affected firms’ access to supply chains? How have lockdowns or the stringency of policy measures driven differences across countries?
4. Are people observing physical distancing measures? How are they complying with existing rules? Who observes physical distancing measures? How might we increase these important public health measures?
5. What has the impact of COVID-19 been on food security? Who is particularly struggling with food insecurity? Have policy responses to food insecurity been effective?
6. Other topics (education, health, farming, household enterprises, gender inequality, digital disparities, etc.) are welcome.

Research on carework is being addressed in the context of the labor research agenda of ERF, but we are happy to consider additional papers on specific worker and firm topics.

III. Data:

Researchers responding to this call will have access to the data of the new ERF COVID-19 MENA Monitor rapid phone surveys, including firms’ data and household data for the following countries: 

• Egypt (3 waves, two panel waves with refresher and one cross-section)
• Morocco (4 waves, panel with refresher)
• Tunisia (4 waves, panel with refresher)
• Sudan (2 waves, panel with refresher)

The submission using other data sources are welcome. 

IV. Methods:

The quantitative micro-level analyses could be conducted using a variety of methods, including panel data methods. Proposals can bring in additional outside data but should rely primarily on the ERF MENA monitor data.

V. Guidelines for Submission:

Authors should submit a proposal of a maximum length of five double-spaced pages (excluding appendices, tables, figures, and references). It should be structured to contain sections in the following format. ERF reserves the right to exclude proposals that are not consistent with these guidelines.  

IMPORTANT NOTE: the proposal should NOT include the authors’ names, as it will undergo an initial blind review process. Short-listed proposals will then be reviewed with identifying information and previous research record. 

1. Statement of the research problem and value added: A clear and concise description of the nature and importance of the proposed research; its scope and boundaries; its general context; and objectives with explicit reference to feasibility and policy relevance. A selective and analytical review of the relevant literature, intending to both demonstrate knowledge of past theoretical and empirical work, as well as identifying the knowledge gap that the proposed research is intended to address (~2 pages).
2. Specific Research Questions and Data: A clear statement of the specific research questions should be provided elaborating on the set of identifiable and concrete questions for which the proposed research is intended to provide answers. The section should also indicate the specific data and variables to be used (please indicate in parentheses variable names as per the questionnaire, e.g. (COR8)) as well as details on any variables to be constructed (~2 pages). 
3. Research Methodology: This should be an elaboration of the research methods to be employed and why they are best suited to answer the research questions. It should explain how the information will be analyzed and interpreted (~1 page). 
4. References: A list should be attached to the proposal specifying the suggested references to be used in writing the proposed paper (does not count towards page count).

VI. Guidelines for Submission:

Deliverables and Budget: Each successful team is expected to prepare a research paper, which will be shared through ERF’s and AFD’s working paper series, and a policy brief of maximum two pages/1,000 words, which will be shared through ERF’s and AFD’s policy brief series. Payment will only be made for papers and policy briefs of sufficient quality to pass review. Note that the budget for each paper is $5,000 and policy brief is $1,000 fixed.

VII. Eligibility

The following eligibility criteria will be applied:

• Researchers should have expertise in the topic being researched.
• At least one of the main researchers should be from the ERF region, whether residing inside or outside the region.
• Researchers from disciplines other than economics may apply.

VIII. Selection Criteria
A refereeing committee will evaluate all proposals by the following criteria: 

• The value added from the project in terms of contributing to existing knowledge, 
• Clear link between research question and data to be analyzed,
• The methodological soundness,
• The policy relevance of the findings.

Geographic coverage of all the proposals received will be considered in the final selection.

XI. Important Dates:

• Submission of proposals deadline: December 15, 2020
• Announcement of winning proposals: December 31, 2020
• Submission of draft papers: May 30, 2021
• Workshop for discussing draft papers: June 2021 (TBD)
• Submission of final papers: September 30, 2021

X. Submission:
To submit your proposal, please fill in the following form: 

YOUR SUBMISSION SHOULD INCLUDE: 

• Author(s)’ CV(s)
• Two published or working papers, and
• Proposal as per the above mentioned guidelines.

For further inquiries, please contact Ms. Ramage Nada, Senior Programs Officer, email: rnada@erf.org.eg.