PEDL Launch First Call for Major Research Grants

13 March 2012

Applications are now open for a Major Grant under the CEPR – DFID research initiative on Private Enterprise Development in Low-Income Countries (PEDL).

PEDL is a joint research initiative of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and the Department for International Development (DFID). Over the next five years, PEDL will pursue a research agenda that aims to better understand what determines the strength of market forces driving efficiency in Low-Income Countries (LICs). Existing research suggests that the private sector in LICs faces a multitude of constraints that act upon each other. What is needed is research that allows us to understand how these constraints interact.

PEDL will support approaches that promise to produce credible research results that will be useful for policy-making. It will promote research related to firms of all sizes.

PEDL focuses on four research themes:

1. Modelling market frictions in LICs using newly available data
2. Understanding how constraints interact using micro-founded macro models
3. The dynamics of SMEs: Informality and entrepreneurship
4. The role of export-oriented industries in driving growth

PEDL will encourage proposals that address cross-cutting issues such as:

1. Fragile and conflict affected states
2. Gender
3. Climate, environment and social compliance

The deadline for submissions is 16th April 2012. For further information on how to apply, visit the PEDL site.