Deadline: 2 October 2017
The Private Enterprise Development in Low-Income Countries (PEDL) is seeking applications for its Major Research Grant Program with an aim to better understand what determines the strength of market forces driving efficiency in Low-Income Countries (LICs).
The Initiative supports research related to firms, enterprises, and markets in LICs and gives priority to approaches that promise to produce credible research results relevant for policy-making in these countries.
PEDL also encourages proposals that address its three cross-cutting themes: Gender; Fragile and Conflict-Affected States; and Unlocking Data for Understanding Markets and Firms.
Topics
- Market frictions, management and organizations: Well-functioning markets provide discipline for entrepreneurs, managers and investors. Competition increases incentives for efficiency and for innovation.
- Trade and macro models – agglomeration and spatial location of firms:Few countries have enjoyed long periods of sustained growth without an active foreign trade sector. Evidence suggests that exporters play a role in aggregate growth which is disproportionate to their share in output.
- High growth entrepreneurship: A majority of the labour force in LICs works in firms with fewer than five workers. But we know from both cross-country and time-series evidence that the process of development is associated with a decrease in the share of the labour force that is self-employed and an increase in average firm size.
- Social compliance and the environment: Creation of wage jobs is an important outcome of a healthy private sector. But creation of desirable wage jobs should be the goal: jobs that are fairly remunerated with safe working conditions. There is evidence that export-oriented firms pay a wage premium in many countries.
Funding Information
Major Research Grants will have a minimum budget of £100,000 with no upper limit.
Eligibility Criteria
The priority countries for this call include low-income countries, DFID target countries and fragile states. Projects carried out partly or entirely in other lower-middle income countries will be considered only if a compelling case is made that the results are applicable to policy in the priority countries.
How to Apply
Applicants can apply via given website.
For more information, please visit PEDL.