Posted 3/20/08
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
CAF RESEARCH PAPERS PROGRAM
The Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF) invites
applications for its Research Papers Program. The Program
invites proposals for research papers on topics of interest
to CAF. CAF will provide economic support to the proposals
selected, and finished papers will be presented in a
seminar and distributed.
ELIGIBILITY:
The program is intended primarily, but not exclusively, for
researchers associated with Latin American universities,
research institutes and other private or public
institutions in Latin America.
The invitation is also extended to assistant professors,
researchers or post graduates from CAF member countries
working in US or European institutions with focus on topics
related to Latin America.
TOPIC:
This year, the program will focus on: "Decentralization
and Local Development in Latin America".
The process of decentralization has advanced steadily in
the region over the last 20 years. This process has
involved increasing political rights to sub-national
communities and jurisdictions, allowing them to elect their
own local and regional authorities, as well as the
decentralization of fiscal instruments and policies. A
greater level of autonomy of regions and local governments
aims at improving the overall functioning of the public
sector. In other words, an immediate objective is that of
achieving better efficiency in the management of
expenditures and revenue decisions. Nevertheless, the
ultimate test for whether decentralization works is whether
it can be an instrument for local development. The
connection between decentralization and regional and/or
local development has been much debated and no clear
consensus has been reached. On the one hand, the
devolution of political, fiscal and economic powers serves
to unleash creative forces at the regional and local level,
allowing communities to be more responsible for their own
actions and to achieve a better match between policies and
local needs. On the other hand, decentralization implies a
lesser role for national states as equalizers of economic
and fiscal capacities across regions. The net effect of
these two forces could be positive for relatively rich
regions and negative for less developed ones, which of
course would imply that devolution is accompanied by an
increase in regional disparities. This problem is likely to
be exacerbated by pre-existing differences in local
management capabilities.
In the context of this debate, the present call for papers
aims at fostering research on issues related to
decentralization and regional and local development. In
particular, proposals should address one or more of the
following questions. Preference will be given to empirical
work based on micro data.
Is decentralization associated with a process of regional
convergence in economic development and living standards
within countries?
What are the channels through which decentralization may
drive such convergence/divergence?
Does decentralization imply better efficiency in the
provision of local public goods and in public expenditure
programs?
Does decentralization of revenue decisions help increase
the local governments' tax effort?
Do intergovernmental fiscal arrangements such as
intergovernmental transfers foster convergence?
Has fiscal decentralization been associated with soft
budget constraint-type behavior on the part of sub-national
governments?
How do globalization (for example, trade liberalization)
and decentralization interact to produce a given pattern of
convergence or divergence across regions?
To what extent is decentralization of revenues associated
with the exploitation of natural resources as a source of
regional divergence within countries?
Does decentralization play a role in the quality of public
sector planning or viceversa?
PROGRAM CONDITIONS:
CAF will pay US$ 10.000 to selected proposals.
Additionally, it will pay travel (economy class) and
lodging expenses to present the paper, either in a seminar
to be held at headquarters in Caracas, or in a CAF
sponsored session at the next LACEA Annual Meeting (in this
second case a preliminary version of the paper may be
presented).
CAF reserves the right to publish and distribute resulting
works. Selected papers may be used as background papers for
CAF's annual publication Reporte de Economia y Desarrollo.
Also, selected papers may be chosen for publication, in
Spanish, in CAF's journal Perspectivas. Authors are free to
submit sponsored papers to specialized journals or
publications or to use them to fulfill academic
requirements, provided that CAF sponsorship is
acknowledged. If authors prefer to submit finished papers
elsewhere, we request authors commit to writing - in
addition to the technical paper - a shorter, policy-
oriented version of the paper for publication in
Perspectivas and/or distribution by CAF in other outlets.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE:
Proposals should not exceed 8 pages and must include the
following
- Title
- Abstract
- Objectives and relevance for the region
- Research methodology
- Outline of research and timetable
- Bibliography
Additionally, proposals must be accompanied by a Curriculum
Vitae and a letter of support from the researchers'
institution or, in the case of graduate students, from
their academic advisor.
Proposals (and papers) may be in either English or Spanish.
All material should be sent via e-mail to:
CONTACT: CAF Research Papers Program
Email: MAILTO:desarrollo@caf.com
Corporacion Andina Fomento
Caracas, Venezuela
Applications must be submitted by May 2, 2008. Early
applications are encouraged.
Proposals will be evaluated by a jury appointed by CAF and
decisions will be made on the basis of the quality of the
proposal and of its relevance to Latin America. Results
will be announced by May 30, 2008.
Final papers must be submitted by November 30, 2008.
For further information, please contact:
CONTACT: Stefania Scandizzo
Email: MAILTO:Stefania.Scandizzo@caf.com
Tel: 0058-212-2092240
CONTACT: Irene Sierraalta
Email: MAILTO:Irene.Sierraalta@caf.com
Tel: 0058-212-2096505
All applications will be acknowledged. If you do not
receive an email acknowledging receipt of your application,
please contact Stefania Scandizzo or Irene Sierraalta.
Further information about CAF and the program can be found
At:
http://www.caf.com
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