Applicants are welcomed for the UNU-WIDER Summer School in Cape Town. Further, 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 also, data availability for conducting a high-quality analysis of applied labor economics.

Course outline and objective

The Summer School will provide participants with a toolkit in applied economics with a special focus on the quantitative analysis of labor markets in developing countries. Moreover, 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. Further, 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:

1. Fundamentals in labor market economics for development: concepts also, definitions
2. Theories of labor markets in developing countries: segmented markets, policies, and institutions
3. Inequality, poverty, and employment: main statistics, regression-based decomposition techniques
4. Labour statistics: data sources, quality, core indicators
5. 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
6. Analysis of employment transitions using panel data.

Benefits

UNU-WIDER will provide successful applicants;

•  A travel grant to cover costs of travel to and also, from the home institution,
• Accommodation,
• Most meals during the stay in Cape Town.
• Back office support will also be available to obtain an entry visa to South Africa.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be an early-career researcher and have shown the 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.
• Researchers from universities and research institutes in Africa and other developing countries in Latin America and Asia.
• Finally, Applications from suitably qualified early-career female researchers.