Call for Papers: Annual ‘Life in Kyrgyzstan’ Conference, 6-7 October 2016
The Institute of Public Policy and Administration of the University of Central Asia (UCA), Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops (IGZ), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Security and Development Center (ISDC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are pleased to announce the second annual ‘Life in Kyrgyzstan’ Conference to take place in Bishkek on 6-7 October 2016.
The two-day conference will bring together national and international experts from government and the public sector, development agencies, non-governmental organizations, academia and research institutions, and media to exchange knowledge and experiences on recent socio-economic developments in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia, and to promote evidence-based policy making.
The conference will also inform on the process of the “Life in Kyrgyzstan” Study carried out in 2016 by an international consortium of research institutions with funding from IFPRI, IGZ, FAO and UCA. Conference costs are sponsored by UCA.
To contribute to the discussion, we invite the submission of proposals for entire sessions or for individual research papers studying various aspects of socio-economic development in Kyrgyzstan or Central Asia more generally, preferably at the micro-level. We welcome empirical papers using panel micro data, especially the “Life in Kyrgyzstan” survey data. However, we also want to encourage researchers to present macroeconomic studies with the relevant topics of research. We encourage PhD students and postdoctoral researchers to apply to participate at the conference and use this opportunity to receive feedback from senior researchers.
Research topics may include but are not limited to:
Poverty and inequality;
Employment and labor markets;
Migration and remittances;
Gender, children and intra-household decision making;
Education and health outcomes;
Nutrition and food security;
Public service delivery and decentralization;
Rural livelihoods and agricultural market access;
Home gardens and rural coping strategies;
Value chains and export orientation;
Entrepreneurship and informality;
Impacts of trade reform;
Social capital and social cohesion;
Peace-building, trust and expectations;
Micro-level data quality, survey methodology and panel data collection; and
Methods of rigorous impact evaluation.
The organizers are seeking both individual papers and proposals for sessions of three or four papers, with preference given to complete session proposals.
Those interested in submitting sessions or papers to the conference are welcome to submit their applications by end-July 2016 at likconference2016@gmail.com. Please list a session title, a session chair, a session organizer, and all co-authors for each paper and enclose a 200-word session summary. Preference will be given to session proposals including full research papers. Individual papers may also be submitted either in a 200-word extended abstract form or in full papers. All submissions should be in English. The conference language will be English, with simultaneous translation provided in Russian. Shortlisted applicants will be notified by end-August 2016.
Academic committee: Professor Kathryn Anderson (Vanderbilt University), Professor Tilman Brück (IGZ/ISDC), Dr. Damir Esenaliev (SIPRI), Dr. Kamiljon Akramov (IFPRI), Dr. Roman Mogilevskii (UCA), and Dr. Kanat Tilekeyev (UCA).