Winter 2007 Research Competition

THE SOUTH ASIAN NETWORK FOR DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS

Deadline: March 22, 2007

The South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) invites research pre-proposals on the inter-linkages among economic development, poverty and environmental change. Pre-proposals, if accepted, will lead to an invitation to submit a full research proposal. Four thematic areas have been identified for the current round of research grants. While some common research questions are identified below, researchers can explore a wider range of questions within each sub-area.
1. Economics of Natural Resource Use and RegulationsLarge groups of people depend on land, forests, rivers and other natural resources. Market as well as non-market processes facilitate the extraction, exchange and consumption of these goods and services. Some natural resources are undervalued and over-extracted, while others may be under-utilized. Four policy questions are of interest: What specific regulations and institutional innovations can correct existing market and policy failures? What are the implementation challenges associated with accurately pricing natural resources and services? Is there a role for new policy instruments such as ‘payments for environmental services?’ And, how do we account for environmental costs in designing economic policies (including trade, macro etc.)? 2. Economics of Pollution ManagementDirty water, waste, toxic chemicals, and indoor and outdoor air pollution have serious implications for human health and productivity. What are some viable policy instruments (taxes, subsidies, user-fees etc.) or institutional changes (community water user groups, private contracts for waste management etc.) that can contribute to clean air and water? And what are the distributional outcomes associated with these instruments? The private sector has an important role to play in cleaning up the environment – whether through the use of abatement technologies, new innovations or increased efficiency. What economic incentives or disincentives would promote increased private sector participation in improving environmental quality? What are some political-economy considerations?
3. Economics of Coastal / Riverine Zone ManagementCoastal / riverine communities are vulnerable to sudden on-set of disasters, long-term impacts of climate change, as well as on-going erosion of coastal resources. Can economic instruments (fees, permits, subsidies) be used to better manage coastal development? What incentives and dis-incentives lead to inefficient use of coastal / riverine resources, particularly fisheries? Further, what is the role of insurance markets in responding to coastal / riverine disasters? What is the role of natural and man-made barriers in mitigating disasters? How can we value the services provided by natural barriers? How and what kind of institutional change will improve well-being or reduce disaster risks?
4. Economics of Climate Change The scientific evidence is quite overwhelming that Planet Earth’s average temperatures are rising. This has both a large direct impact due to productivity losses etc., but also in terms of adaptation and mitigation costs that society will have to bear. How will the agricultural output change? How will sea level rise affect coastal communities? Rising temperatures will affect precipitation, and therefore river flows and groundwater stocks. How would this impact on human well being? What kind of costs are involved in mitigating risks? How much would communities have to spend in order maintain equivalent well-being to adapt to the rising temperatures?
SANDEE supports economics research related to environmental problems. Thus, pre-proposals that do not have a strong economics component will not be considered. Pre-proposals are sought from junior to mid-career faculty and researchers; multi-disciplinary / country projects and use of secondary data are encouraged. Institutional affiliation is required for receiving support. Pre-proposals will be evaluated on their academic merit and policy significance. Selected researchers will be invited to submit a full research proposal.
SANDEE’s grants are in the range from $10,000 to $15,000 for 12-24 months. Pre-proposals need to be directly loaded on to the website by March 22, 2007. Pre-proposals received after this date will not be accepted.
If you experience any technical difficulty in uploading your pre-proposal, please strictly follow the guidelines, format and size limitations described on the website and email your file to applications@sandeeonline.org