Comparative Labor and Human Development Research Using Labor Market Panel Surveys Data

ERF invites affiliates and non-ERF affiliates to submit proposals that enhance the understanding of a variety of labor market challenges and issues relevant to the region. Deadline for submissions: December 15, 2016.   ERF has made substantial investments in collecting Labor Market Panel Surveys and has made these data sets publicly available to researchers through the ERF data portal. The datasets currently available online are:   Besides their panel structure, these surveys contain extensive retrospective data on residential and labor market mobility, detailed employment characteristics, domestic work, savings and borrowing behavior, family formation, and more. To find out more about these surveys, please visit the ERF data portal on www.erfdataportal.com.   Capitalizing on these datasets, ERF invites affiliates and non-ERF affiliates to submit proposals that enhance the understanding of a variety of labor market challenges and issues relevant to the region. The proposals may address any of the following sub-themes or relationships, focusing on a specific country over time or comparing multiple countries in the region, as per the terms outlined below.   The subthemes of the call include but are not limited to: 1. Inequality & Poverty
  • Inequality in the labor market and access to services (such as education and health)
  • Intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status (including employment and educational outcomes)
  • Impact of policies and programs (for instance, social assistance) on inequality and poverty
2. Precarious and Vulnerable Employment
  • Dynamics and nature of under-employment, irregular (casual or seasonal) employment
  • Livelihood diversification strategies (multiple jobs or income streams)
  • Health, health care, working conditions, workplace hazards, and workplace injuries
3. Public Sector Employment
  • Demographics of public sector workforce and opportunities for early retirement schemes to streamline it.
  • Public sector wage determination and labor market segmentation
4. Geographic mobility and employment
  • Constraints to mobility as barriers to employment for women and youth in lagging regions
  • Patterns of internal migration and commuting
5. Subsistence and Domestic Labor
  • Life-cycle analysis of engagement and time commitment to subsistence work and domestic work, with a particular focus on disparities by gender, locale, and socio-economic status
  • Impact of subsistence, domestic, and market labor on educational outcomes for children
  • Intergenerational caregiving relationships (child care, elder care)
6. Family Formation
  • Determinants of marriage incidence and timing (particularly labor market, economic, and policy-related factors)
  • Determinants of fertility (including gender role attitudes, labor market, and educational experiences)
  • Saving for marriage and housing
Other topics on labor and human development will also be taken into consideration.   GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS Authors should submit an original proposal of a maximum length of twenty pages [including appendices, tables, figures and references]. Proposals should be structured to contain the sections in the following format. ERF reserves the right to exclude proposals that are not consistent with these guidelines:
  1. Statement of the research problem: A clear and concise description of the nature and importance of the proposed research, its scope and boundaries, its general context, and its objectives, with explicit reference to feasibility and policy relevance.
  2. Value Added: A selective and analytical review of the relevant literature, with a view to both demonstrating knowledge of past theoretical and empirical work, as well as identifying the knowledge gap that the proposed research is intended to address.
  3. Conceptual Framework and Research Methodology: A clear statement of the conceptual framework should be provided, elaborating on the set of specific, identifiable and concrete questions for which the proposed research intends to answer. This is to be followed by an elaboration of the research methods to be employed and why they are best suited to answer the research questions. This section should also indicate the nature of the information required and the data collection techniques, whether primary or secondary or a combination of the two. Finally, it should explain how the information will be analyzed and interpreted using quantitative and/or qualitative methods.
  4. Deliverables: This section should describe the research products that will be delivered at various stages of the research process.
  5. Time Frame: A clear plan of the timing of all stages of the research project taking into account that all projects have to be completed before November 15, 2017. The timetable must specify due dates of draft and final papers as well as any planned events.
  6. Budget: The budget should be submitted in US dollars, itemized and inclusive of all research and dissemination expenses. Research costs should be by deliverables. Other budget items may include travel, if necessary, research assistance, data collection, office supplies and photocopying. The purchase of equipment is not allowed under ERF grant rules. If events are planned, separate costing is required.
  7. References: A list should be attached to the proposal specifying the suggested references to be used in writing the proposed paper(s).
  ELIGIBILITY
  • 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 of the region.
  • Researchers from disciplines other than economics may apply.
SELECTION CRITERIA
  • The value added by the project in terms of contributions to existing knowledge.
  • The methodological soundness of the project, be it econometric or an in-depth case study.
  • The policy relevance of the findings.
APPROVAL PROCESS
  • All proposals and outputs will be peer reviewed. Authors of accepted proposals will be requested to respond to the comments of the reviewers.
IMPORTANT DATES
  • Deadline for submission of proposals: 15th December 2016
  • Announcement of accepted proposals: 30th January 2017
  • Submission of draft papers: 1st August 2017
  • Workshop for discussing draft papers: 1st September 2017
  • Submission of final papers: 15th December 2017
  Please forward your submission, together with:
Initiatives & Partnerships

Data Portal

http://www.erfdataportal.com/index.php/catalog

The Forum

ERF Policy Brief