CALL FOR PAPERS

Macroeconomic Challenges Facing Low-Income Countries

January 30-31, 2014

The conference, sponsored by the IMF and funded by the UK Department for International Development, aims to provide a forum for discussing innovative theoretical and empirical research on the key macroeconomic challenges facing low-income countries, and to facilitate the exchange of views among researchers and policymakers.

One of the key goals is to increase the attention devoted to macroeconomic issues in low-income countries. To this end, submissions from researchers who have not previously focused on these economies are strongly encouraged.

The papers should shed light on how such macroeconomic challenges operate in practice, and how they interact with each other, especially in terms of their effect on growth, macroeconomic stability, and resilience to shocks. Themes of particular interest include:

• Monetary policy
• Fiscal policy
• Investment, growth, and debt sustainability
• Natural resource management
• Diversification and structural transformation
• Financial sector development

Papers that do not fit into these categories, but are related to the main theme of the conference, are also welcome.

Submission of Papers

Interested authors should submit either a draft paper, or a detailed abstract (up to 1,500 words), by February 1, 2013 to LICsConference@imf.org. The proposal should include the title of the paper, the author(s)’ affiliation and contact information, the main questions to be examined, the most relevant literature, the intended contribution of the paper to the literature, and the possible data sets and methodology to be employed. Authors should also provide a copy of their curriculum vitae.

Please use the contact author’s name as the name of the file. The Program Committee will evaluate all proposals in terms of originality, analytical rigor, and policy relevance and will contact the authors whose papers have been selected by March 15, 2013. A first draft of the papers will be presented at a pre-conference on July 22-23, 2013. Final drafts are due by December 31, 2013.

• IMF Seminars, Conferences and Workshops
• Macro Research for Development: An IMF-DFID Collaboration