CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: 2017 REGIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL FOR YOUNG ECONOMISTS

Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT) and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) invite young economists, researchers and graduate students to participate in the Regional Training Course (Summer School) on Applied Econometric Analysis from June 12 to June 23, 2017. The aim of the Summer School is to strengthen the capacity of young economists in Central Asia, specifically those of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, for quantitative research, economic policy analysis, and, in particular, for econometric analysis of socioeconomic phenomena in the context of economics and related social sciences.

The emphasis of the Summer School Program will be on identifying causal relationships using modern tools and techniques of applied econometric analysis. When necessary, the programme will also cover mathematical foundations of modern econometrics. In particular, students of the Summer School Program will learn to:

• identify research niche and develop research questions;
• do empirical data analysis and build robust econometric models;
• detect causality in cross–sectional and time series, as well as longitudinal (panel) data settings;
• address endogeneity and heterogeneity issues in empirical studies;
• interpret the results of empirical research and make a causal inference;
• publish research papers in international peer-reviewed journals.

Classes of the Summer School Program will be held at WIUT premises in Tashkent, combining applied and empirical analyses with statistical packages such as Stata in computer-labs. All classes will be conducted in English by IFPRI senior researchers and WIUT faculty members with experience in modern research in economics.

The most promising researchers among the participants of the Summer School may be invited, on a competitive basis, to IFPRI headquarters in Washington, D.C. for a research internship.

Participation requirements:

Participants for the Summer School Program will be selected on a competitive basis. All those who are engaged in research or seek a career involving research, are fluent in English, are at the age of 35 or younger, and reside in one of the following countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, are eligible. Applicants should submit a completed  2017 Summer School Application Form together with their most up to date CV to the following addresses research@wiut.uz and j.ilyasov@cgiar.org no later than May 8, 2017.

The organizers will provide foreign and regional participants with economy class round trip ticket to Tashkent, accommodation in a hotel and living allowances for the duration of the Summer School.

To gain a better understanding of the programs curriculum, please review the curriculum offered during the 2016 Summer School for Young Economists.