The VI Annual Conference of the Trade, Integration and Growth Network (TIGN) will be held in Los Angeles, USA, on May 15-16, 2015. This conference is sponsored by the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the CAF-Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), and UCLA and is organized by UCLA. The TIGN conference is a unique event that brings together top researchers and policymakers to discuss recent theoretical and empirical advances in trade and integration and growth broadly defined. For additional information on this conference and to register and submit a paper please click here:
Author Archives: Isleide Zissimos
European Commission: Call for expressions of interest
The following fields are covered by this call for expressions of interest:
1. Economic analysis of trade and investment arrangements/agreements (unilateral, bilateral, multilateral, sectoral etc.) covering the EU and partner countries, including inter alia the use of modelling techniques, econometrics and literature reviews (Excluding Sustainability Impact Assessments, Ex-post Evaluations and studies supporting impact assessments prepared for Commission initiatives which are expected to have significant direct economic, social or environmental impacts).
2. Economic analysis of trade restrictive measures taken by partner countries e.g. in the context of the Trade Barriers Regulation or disputes discussed at the World Trade Organisation.
3. Economic analysis, including literature reviews, of any other specific trade policy topic.
4. Development of trade policy modelling and trade data analytical tools. For example, building extensions of existing models, creating user-friendly modelling modules and providing analytical means to assess and analyse large volumes of trade related data such as firm level trade data and product level trade data.
5. Trade policy related surveys.
6. Peer review (blind) of tasks carried out under the points above (primarily points 1-3) safeguarding standards of the work undertaken commensurate with the level of technical requirements for publications in peer reviewed journals (A vendor may be included in one or several of the sub-lists above, but must not review his/her own work. Collusion with vendors on the other sub-lists is prohibited. Any potential conflict of interest should be signalled to the Commission before the review commences).
Expressions of interest should be submitted in one of the official languages of the European Union by electronic means at the following address: TRADE-CHIEF-ECONOMIST@ec.europa.eu.
The list will become operational on 1 May 2015. Inclusion on the list entails no obligation on the part of the contracting authority concerning the conclusion of contracts.
For full details, see http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2014/december/tradoc_152990.pdf.
Fellowships in sustainability science Harvard University, US
The Center for International Development, at Harvard University, invites applications for its fellowships in sustainability science. These aim to facilitate the design, implementation and evaluation of effective interventions that promote sustainable development. The 2015 competition is focused on decarbonising energy systems in EU; designing, developing and implementing sustainable energy technologies and policies in China; and the impacts of fossil fuel subsidies on economic, environmental and health indicators and the actions that can be taken to reduce them.
Applicants must be doctoral students enrolled in a doctoral programme who have completed their required coursework, postdocs who have received their PhD degree less than five years ago and mid-career professionals from governmental, non-governmental, private organisations or academia with at least five years work experience in relevant fields. Fellowships are open to applicants of all nationalities, but candidates from Italy, China and developing nations are especially encouraged to apply.
The fellowships are available for up to one year depending on the experience of the candidate. Funding is worth US$28,000 for doctoral students and US$55,000 for postdoctoral students. Fellowships for mid-career professionals are worth up to US$35,000.
Closing date 02 Feb 15
CALL FOR PAPERS: Workshop on Firm Dynamics, Trade and Development
December 10-11, 2014
Montevideo, Uruguay
The Banco Central del Uruguay (BCU), in cooperation with the Research Institute for Development, Growth and Economics (RIDGE), is pleased to announce a call for papers for the Workshop on Firm Dynamics, Trade and Development, which will be held onDecember 10-11, 2014, in Montevideo, Uruguay, organizers Joseph Stiglitz (Columbia), Omar Licandro (Barcelona GSE) and Adolfo Sarmiento (BCU).
This Workshop will count with the presence of the following invited speakers: Professor Sam Kortum from Yale University and Professor Peter Schott from Yale University.
The policy round table discussion will be led by Dr. Christian Volpe from IADB.
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Ariel Burstein, UCLA
Lorenzo Caliendo, Yale University
Hugo Hopenhayn, UCLA
Nestor Gandelman, Universidad ORT (Montevideo)
IMPORTANT DATES
Deadline for paper submission: September 30, 2014
Notification of paper acceptance: October 15, 2014
TOPICS
The Workshop organizers invite authors to submit original, theoretical and empirical papers on the general topic of firm dynamics, trade and development.
WORKSHOP PAPERS SUBMISSION PROCEDURE
Papers for the Workshop must be submitted by September 30, 2014. To submit a paper, please email a PDF file to or
The cover page should include: the title of the paper, institutional affiliation, including address, phone and email of each author, and an abstract with the appropriate JEL classification.
Authors of papers accepted for presentation at the Workshop will be notified by October 15, 2014.
NOTE
Organizers will make hotel reservations and cover accommodation costs (up to two nights) to speakers (though participants from central banks and other official institutions are expected to cover their own expenses). Limited resources are available to cover travel expenses.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Should you have any questions, please contact or
This Workshop will develop within the framework of the First RIDGE December Forum,December 8 – 12, 2014, jointly with the following workshops:
Financial Stability and Regulatory Responses, December 8-9
Financial Crises, December 9-10
Productivity Growth, Resource Misallocation and Development. 11-12
The RIDGE December Forum aims to favor the spread of high quality research in economics by associating top researchers working on the frontier of knowledge to local and regional researchers and policymakers.
Participants to the Workshop on Firm Dynamics, Trade and Development are welcome to attend the other workshops.
Luther G Tweeten scholarship
The Agricultural and Applied Economics Association invites applications for the Luther G Tweeten scholarship. This supports graduate student research on socioeconomic problems of Africa by especially addressing issues of food, population and environment that affect economic development, poverty and food security.
The scholarship is worth up to US$2,000 and it is to be used to cover the costs associated with fieldwork in Africa, including research materials, programmes and travel expenses.
Closing date: 06 Oct 14
WINTER SCHOOL 2014 DELHI SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
The Department of Economics and the Centre for Development Economics at the Delhi School of Economics will hold their annual conference, the ‘Winter School’, from December 15-17, 2014. The distinguished plenary speakers this year are Professors Tom Sargent (New York University), M. Scott Taylor (University of Calgary), and Michele Boldrin (Washington University in St Louis).
Paper submissions in all areas of economics are invited for the contributed sessions. Doctoral students and younger faculty are particularly encouraged to participate, although submissions from researchers of all vintages are welcome.
The submission deadline is September 14, 2014. Acceptance decisions will be intimated by October 14, 2014. Those interested must send a cover letter, CV and paper (all PDF files) to <>.
Organising Committee, DSE
Queries: surjeet@econdse.org
IGC Country Economists
The IGC has Country Economists based in its partner countries which currently include Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Liberia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. There are currently vacancies in India (Bihar office), Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda and Tanzania, though candidates will also be considered for a reserve pool for all countries.
Country Economists work with the country leadership team in implementing the country strategy, with a particular emphasis on identifying and developing opportunities for policy influence and connecting researchers with policy makers. They support researchers in facilitating research projects; manage country programme activities including country visits and events as well as regular reports on research and policy developments; contribute to the ongoing evaluation of the programme; support the dissemination of research outputs to maximise policy impact; and can potentially work on IGC research projects where opportunities arise.
Good economics and policy analysis skills, written and oral communication skills, as well as excellent organisational skills are essential, as is the ability to work under pressure, both as part of a team and independently. Applicants should hold a post-graduate degree (MSc/MPA/MPP) in economics, public policy/administration, development economics, or a related discipline.
Closing Date for Applications: 6 July 2014.
For more information and to apply, please click here.
Small grants
Department for International Development (DFID), GB and other funders
The Department for International Development (DFID) and the International Development Research Council (IDRC) invite applications for small grants under the Pathways to Resilience in Semi-arid Economies (PRISE) research project. These aim to support PRISE’s objectives in its inception phase. Projects should develop baselines and assessments of current socio-economic and environmental contexts of semi-arid lands and assess drivers of change and vulnerability in semi-arid lands over the period to 2030. Research should focus on one or more of PRISE’s core countries, including Burkina Faso, Kenya, Pakistan, Senegal, Tajikistan and Tanzania.
Applicants must be early career researchers, either studying towards a PhD or completed their PhD within the last three years. Researchers from developing countries are particularly encouraged to apply. Applicants may not be enrolled as a student, or employed by, the PRISE core consortium partners, including Overseas Development Institute (ODI), the London School of Economics (LSE), University of Dar es Salaam, Innovation Environnement et Développement en Afrique (IED Afrique)and the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).
Grants are worth between £3,000 and £5,000. There is potential for projects that bring exceptional value to the programme to receive funding of up to £10,000. Research must be completed by December 2014.
Closing date 23 Jun 14
Economic development and institutions research
Department for International Development (DFID), GB
The Department for International Development (DFID) invites tenders for its economic development and institutions research programme. Tenderers will consider the relationship between institutions and economic growth in low income countries and create a body of evidence designed to be academically ground-breaking and of sufficient magnitude to be game-changing in terms of policy. Tenderers should deliver:
•a set of 10 to 20 path-finding papers reviewing current evidence on institutions’ relationship to growth, to set out the current research frontier;
•a tool for growth-orientated institutional diagnostics that would draw on existing knowledge to identify the feasible institutional reforms that would have the biggest growth pay off;
•a set of coordinated trials (RCTs) studying the effects of real institutional reforms across a range of contexts to inform general conclusions about one or two specific institutional reforms;
•a set of coordinated case studies on the interactions among institutions.
The project value is approximately £15 million
Resistance to Technology Adoption
The adoption of new technologies is fundamental for economic development. This might have led one to expect that the more technologically backward a country the more fervently it would adopt new technologies. Yet in fact, one of the greatest difficulties with the process of economic development is precisely the resistance among entrenched interest groups to technological change. Because such groups anticipate the resultant loss of income they may try to block the introduction of new technologies through outright conflict. Famous historical examples are the Luddites and the Captain Swing revolts. Other blocking mechanisms do not rely on direct conflict and usually aim at securing some form of protection from the government. This is clear in the case where firms and workers lobby against trade liberalization or deregulation of markets. There are also indirect mechanisms that can involve, for example, deliberate failure to protect property rights. The reason is that groups who become wealthier as a result of the adoption of new technology can dispute the political position of an incumbent group, providing the incumbent with an incentive to undermine property rights protection and hence technology adoption.
Acemoglu, Daron and James A. Robinson (2000) “Political Losers as a Barrier to Economic Development”, American Economic Review, 90 (2): 126-130.
Acemoglu, Daron and James A. Robinson (2006) “Economic Backwardness in Political Perspective”, American Political Science Review, 100 (1): 115–131. [Working paper version]
Bellettini, Giorgio and Ottaviano, Gianmarco I. P. (2005) “Special interests and technological change” Review of Economic Studies, 72 (1): 43-56. [Working paper version]
Bridgman, Benjamin R., Igor D. Livshits, and James C. MacGee (2007) “Vested Interests and Technology Adoption”, Journal of Monetary Economics, 54 (3): 649-666.
Bourguignon, Francois, and Thierry Verdier (2000) “Oligarchy, Democracy, Inequality and Growth”, Journal of Development Economics, 62 (August): 285–313.
Cuberes, David and Michał Jerzmanowski (2009) “Democracy, Diversification and Growth Reversals”, Economic Journal, 119 (540): 1270-1302. [Working paper version]
Gancia, Gino and Fabrizio Zilibotti (2009) “Technological Change and the Wealth of Nations“ Annual Review of Economics, 1: 93-120. [Working paper version]
Gonzalez, Francisco M. (2005) “Insecure property and technological backwardness”, Economic Journal, 115 (505): 703-721
Kuznets, Simon (1968) “Towards a Theory of Economic Growth”, Yale University Press, New Haven.
Mokyr, Joel (1990) “The Lever of Riches”, Oxford University Press, Oxford
Olson, Mancur (1982) “The Rise and Decline of Nations: Economic Growth, Stagflation, and Social Rigidities”, Yale University Press, New Haven
Parente, Stephen L. and Edward C. Prescott. 1999. “Monopoly Rights: A Barrier to Riches.” American Economic Review, 89: 1216–33.
Saint-Paul, Gilles (2002) “The Political Economy of Employment Protection” Journal of Political Economy, 110 (3): 672-704. [Working paper version]