The Economic Research Forum’s (ERF) 22nd Annual Conference will be held in Cairo, Egypt, March, 2016. The organizing committee is pleased to invite the submission of proposals per the outline given below. Invitees should be engaged in research on the ERF region (the Arab countries, Iran and Turkey), regardless of their affiliation to ERF. Previously published papers or those accepted for publication may not be submitted. The deadline for submitting proposals is June 15, 2015.
The authors of accepted papers (one author per paper) will be invited to present and take part in the deliberations of the conference at ERF’s expense. If the paper is accepted for publication in a refereed journal within two years of the conference, the author(s) will receive an honorarium of $1,000. In addition, the refereeing committees will select six papers—one per each of the six parallel session themes—for the Best Paper Award. Winning papers are evaluated on the basis of their contribution to knowledge, rigor and policy relevance. The Awards will be announced at the Closing Plenary of the conference and each winning paper will receive an extra $1,000. Finally, the editors of ERF’s Middle East Development Journal (MEDJ) will select worthy papers for possible inclusion in the journal, following the journal’s refereeing process.
CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES
The 22nd Annual Conference provides a unique opportunity for regional researchers to interact with international peers and with each another. It also provides a venue for the presentation of multiple research papers, both in the plenary and parallel sessions, with stimulating discussions and feedback. In addition, the conference features special events, the presentation of selected research projects and celebrates excellence in research.
MAIN THEME AND SUB-THEMES
The theme of the plenary sessions this year is A Post Arab Awakening Development Agenda. The themes of the parallel sessions are always varied enough to accommodate diverse research interests. Submissions for presentations in the parallel sessions may be made under the following areas:
- Macroeconomics
- Finance
- International Economics
- Labor and Human Development
- Microeconomic and Sectoral studies
- Institutional Economics/Governance
TIMETABLE AND DEADLINES
The deadline for submitting paper proposals is June 15, 2015, and selected applicants will be informed by August 17, 2015. Final papers are due by December 4, 2015. Below is a detailed timetable.
IMPORTANT DATES
Deadline for submissions: June 15, 2015
Notification of selected proposals: August 17, 2015
Deadline for receiving written papers: December 4, 2015
Notification of acceptance of papers for presentation: January 14, 2016
Pre-conference activities: March, 2016
Conference begins: March, 2016
Conference ends: March, 2016
Revision of papers for publication in the ERF working paper series completed: May, 2016
Exact dates to be later determined.
GUIDELINES FOR PROPOSALS AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
Paper proposals should not exceed two pages, or 700 words. They should consist of three sections:
- Motivation and Outline: This section should provide a clear statement of the problem at hand, the knowledge gap the paper will address in light of existing literature and how the proposed research will contribute to advancing knowledge about the subject. It should also provide an outline of the final paper.
- Methodology and Analysis: This section should clearly identify the research question, the hypothesis to be tested, and the research methodology that will be employed. It should describe the data that will be used in the analysis, as well as its sources and the time span for each variable. It should describe the analytical technique (case studies and/or econometrics) and explain the rationale for using the selected methodology.
- Policy Implications: Researchers are encouraged to describe preliminary results and policy implications, if possible. If not, they should explain how the findings will contribute to the understanding of the topic under investigation.
SELECTION PROCESS
ERF reserves the right to exclude proposals that are not consistent with the above guidelines. In addition, no single author may submit more than two proposals, whether independently or jointly with others. The selection of proposals is based on their evaluation by refereeing committees with marginal adjustment to take into account regional and gender balances. Another round of refereeing will take place to evaluate the completed papers, and authors will be notified of their acceptance for presentation accordingly. All proposals and papers will go through a plagiarism-checking process to ensure their originality and authenticity.
All proposals must specify the theme under which they are submitted. In addition, submissions should include:
- Author(s)’ last and first names, affiliation and position, address, telephone and fax numbers, and email address.
- Author(s)’ CV(s) and the most recently published paper, if any.
PLEASE FORWARD YOUR SUBMISSION TO THE FOLLOWING EMAIL: erf@erf.org.eg
CONTACT
For further inquiries, please contact Hoda Azmi, Conference & Logistics Manager, ERF, at 21 Al-Sad Al-Aaly Street, Dokki, Giza, Egypt. Fax (+202) 333 18 604; E-mail: erf@erf.org.eg