Call for Proposals: Structural Transformation in African Agriculture and Rural Spaces – Due January 31st

<a href="https://www.econthatmatters.com/byline/etrm-editorial-team/" rel="tag">ETRM Editorial Team</a>

The ETRM team is happy to share with you the call for proposals for the 2021 Structural Transformation of African Agricultural and Rural Spaces (STAARS) fellowship. STAARS is a program hosted by Cornell University in conjunction with the CGAIR program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM). The program pairs talented early career African economists with mentors at Cornell and partnering universities, in order to jointly author a paper on a topic of mutual interest relating to structural transformation in Africa south of the Sahara. Resulting research findings target publication in high quality journals. In addition, PIM and Cornell will facilitate Fellows’ participation in scientific and policy conferences (and invite them to feature work on this blog; see for example Amolegbe or Mukasa).

The STAARS team is encouraging research proposals from the following thematic areas, all with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa:

  • Dynamics of agriculture input use, technological change, and productivity growth
  • Rural factor market performance, labor exits, and productivity
  • Food security, nutrition, and health linkages
  • Poverty dynamics and resilience against shocks

The call is open to early career African researchers who are either in the last year of their PhD or completed their PhD no earlier than 2016. Researchers currently working in an African country, and qualified women, are especially encouraged to apply. Selected Fellows will be expected to complete their proposed research project by submitting a working paper by December 15th, 2021 and proceed by submitting the paper to a peer-reviewed journal and conferences in early 2022.

The deadline to submit a research proposal is January 31, 2021, and selected applicants will be notified by early March 2021 (see full details here). Selected applicants will receive funds to cover travel and participation in a three-week mentorship program at Cornell University. Due to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel may not be possible in 2021. The 2021 program will hence begin virtually (building on the successful experience of 2020), but will hope to invite fellows to Cornell as possible and will evaluate the feasibility of travel in mid-2021.

The STAARS fellowship began in 2016 and to date has supported 22 fellows from diverse backgrounds; learn more about previous fellows here.

 

 

 

 

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