RFPs: Inequality Over the Life Course Project

They seek proposals from researchers working on intergenerational mobility, labour market inequality, climate change and inequality, evaluation of the impacts of public policies on inequality, education and inequality, and perceptions of redistribution. They are particularly interested in proposals that make a strong empirical contribution or use innovative datasets for lower income countries, particularly in Africa. Proposals that conduct systematic reviews and meta-analysis, and descriptive analysis that push the research frontier on inequality in lower income and data-limited contexts are also welcomed.

UNU-WIDER invites proposals from qualified researchers for papers examining the determinants of intergenerational mobility and labour market inequality in Global South countries. The aim is that these papers will be published in high-quality journals in economics, political science, development studies, or related fields after publication in the WIDER Working Paper Series.

Aims

• This project aims to understand the drivers of inequality in different moments of life and the policies that can be implemented to reduce their influence. In particular, they are interested in proposals that advance theoretical and empirical knowledge on the following questions:
• How do pre-market factors—such as early childhood environments, exposure to economic or climate shocks, a parent’s job loss, a change in a household’s geographic location, etc.— explain a society’s levels of intergenerational mobility and labour market inequality?
  • How do the characteristics of the place of birth (or childhood)—such as public goods provision, peer effects, social networks, etc.—affect inequality?
  • What are the effects of specific policies on overall levels of social and economic intergenerational mobility or labour market inequalities? Which interventions have successfully redressed disadvantages created by pre-market inequalities and which interventions have successfully reduced inequalities of labour market outcomes?
• In addition to these guiding questions, they would like to highlight the importance of advancing the understanding of inequality in some specific contexts:
  • African countries with limited data access or data quality
  • The subgroup lens of inequality and discrimination: race, gender, occupational choice, etc.
  • Intersections between inequality and climate change

Funding Information

• Researchers with successful proposals will receive a total research honorarium of USD 6,000–10,000.
• Researchers who are interested in submitting a proposal for creating a new and innovative data set in a low-income context may apply for a research honorarium between USD 10,000 and USD 20,000.

Eligibility Criteria

• Proposals from individuals, groups of individuals, as well as non-profit organizations, are welcome.
• Applications from women and Global South country researchers are particularly encouraged.
• They highly encourage junior and early-career scholars to submit a research proposal either as individuals or with a senior collaborator as a research group.

For more information, visit UNU-WIDER.