training program funded by Ford

Dear colleague,

The Ford Foundation asked us to distribute the attached training notice. Hope you can pass the information on to any friends that may be interested in the program.

Thanks,

Ji Yingnan
IIE Beijing Office



Description of the Research Training and Mentoring Program for
Young Women Economists

January 2005

1. Objectives

This training program is provided jointly by a group of overseas economists and the Center of China Economic Research (CCER), Beijing University, in May 2005 with the financial support from the Ford Foundation. The overall goal of the program is to improve the presence of women in economic research by helping young women scholars overcome two main obstacles they face: (a) lack of advanced, post-degree, hands-on research training, and (b) lack of access to the network of professional contacts in economics. The program has three specific objectives: (1) to provide rigorous training to women economists as a way to upgrade and re-invigorate their skills; (2) to provide mentorship to women economists to teach them how to do research through the point where they can present their work domestically and internationally and publish their work in top quality research outlets, and (3) to promote economic research and education on women/gender issues in China.  

Through a series of activities we hope that the program will contribute to building a critical mass of young women economists who are actively engaged in research using modern techniques and interested in and capable of providing research training and mentoring for junior scholars. Eventually we envision this becoming a regularly established “women’s economic forum” where young women economists come for advanced training and learning about how to do economic research; where more established scholars come to refresh their skills and get help in becoming more recognizable in domestic and international circles; and finally, where established scholars come to share their skills and experience to help those who have not advanced as far in their careers.  

2. Description of the program

The training program consists of three parts. The first part is to offer a two-week intensive training course in the Center of China Economics Research, Beijing University in May 2005. The objective of the training course is to increase the research capabilities of the students, and hence great emphasis will be placed on economic theories, research methodologies, and econometric skills. The course syllabus is attached below. The second part of the program is to provide a one-to-one research mentoring for the participants based on the research proposal that each student presents at the end of the training course. The students will work collaboratively with their mentors to improve the way they design, implement, and carry out research based on their research proposal. The subject of the research proposal can be on any topic, and hopefully will be in an area in which the student can be assisted most effectively by one of the research mentors. Research mentoring will be done mainly through email, telephone conversation and mail correspondence. The third part of the program is to invite the students to come back to receive one day of follow-up econometrics training and then to present their research results for graduation at the Women Economists Forum in May 2006.

The training course will be taught by three instructors: Professor Dong Xiao-yuan of the University of Winnipeg, Canada, Professor Zhao Yaohui and Professor Shen Minggao of Beijing University, China. Research mentors will be selected from a pool of established Chinese and international scholars who have extensive experience in student supervision and statistical analysis, and have established respectable research records.
   
The Syllabus for the Training Course
Economic Research on Women and Development

January 2005

1.    Course Description

The objective of this two-week intensive training course is to provide students with analytical and empirical skills to do economic research using micro data. The course is designed to increase the research capabilities of the students by placing special emphasis on economic theories, research methodologies, and econometric techniques. The course covers various subjects in labor markets and agricultural economics with a particular attention to women and gender issues in development. The students are trained to write research proposals and to do advanced econometric analysis on these subjects using the computer software, STATA.

2.    Course Structure

This course consists of 10 days of intensive studies from June May 23 to June 3, 2005 and one day of follow-up econometrics training in May 2006. The schedule of the course is as follows: On May 23, the opening day, the session starts from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm in the morning and from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm in the afternoon; and from the 24th of May and to the 3rd of June, the class starts from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm in the morning and from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm.  

On May 23, the morning activities start with the opening remarks by Dr. Sarah Cook, the representative of the Ford Foundation and Professor Justin Lin, director of the CCER, followed by a brief introduction of each instructor and each students. Then each student presents her research proposal for about 10 minutes in the class in the remaining of the day.  
   
From May 24 to June 2, the three instructors give lectures and provide computer training. Each day is divided into three hours of lectures and three hours of hands-on training on computer programs and data analysis. The lectures will be pitched at very practical, research relevant materials. The empirical training will be focused on micro data analysis, and real data from each instructor’s own research will be used in the computer training. The students are expected to do readings and write their research proposals in the evening and over the weekend. They are also encouraged to discuss their research interest in the class, and the instructors supervise them to revise their research proposals throughout the course.

On June 3, the last day of the course, each student presents her research proposal in the class and makes her assessment of the training program and suggestions regarding how the program can be improved should it be offered in the future.  A one-day follow-up econometrics training will be offered in May 2006 when the students come back to present their research papers.  

3.    Course Outline and Reading List

Section 1: Intra-household Allocations and Women’s Labor Force Participation
By Professor Dong Xiao-yuan

May 24:

Lecture: Gender, Development and Intra-household Allocations     
I. Gender inequality and its consequences to development  
II. Economic theories of intra-household resource allocation   
b.    Unitary models
i.    Theory
ii.    Implications to gender inequality
iii.    Empirical analysis
c.    Collective bargaining models
i.    Theory
ii.    Implications to gender inequality
iii.    Empirical analysis     

Computer Lab: STATA Basics
The topic: Regression analysis of the status of women and development

May 25:
Lecture: Economics of Women’s labor supply
I.    Theories of women’s labor supply
II.    Empirical methods for estimating women’s labor supply

Computer Lab: Regression analysis of women’s labor supply
The topics: Probit, Tobit, and Sample Selection Models

Readings:

Elson, Diane, “Labor Markets as Gendered Institutions: Equality, Efficiency and Empowerment Issues.” World Development, Vol. 27 No. 3: pp. 611-627.

John Hoddinott and Lawrence Haddad, 1995, “Does Female Income Share Influence Household Expenditures? Evidence from Cote D’Ivoire,” Oxford Economic Bulletin, pp. 77-96.

McElroy, M. and Horney, M., “Nash-bargaining Household Decisions: Towards a Generalization of the Theory of Demand.” International Economic Review, 22: 333-348.

Killingsworth, M. and J. Heckman, 1986, “Female Labor Supply: A Survey”. In Handbook of Labor Economics, Volume I, eds. O, Ashenfelter and R. Layard. New York: North-Holland.  
   
    Nakamura, Masao, Alice Nakamura, and Dallas Cullen, 1979, “Job Opportunities, the Offered Wages, and the Labor Supply of Married Women”, American Economic Review, 69(3): 787-805.

Amartya Sen, 1990, “Gender and Cooperative Conflicts”, in Persistent Inequality: Women and World Development, ed. Irene Tinker, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Strauss, John, Germano Mwabu and Kathleen Beegle, 2000, “Intra-household Allocations: A Review of Theories and Empirical Evidence,” Journal of African Economics, 9 (supplement 1): 83-143.

World Bank, 2001, Engendering Development: Through Gender Equality in Rights, Resources, and Voice. Summary and Chapter 4. Oxford University Press.

    Wooldridge, Jeffrey M., 1999, Introductory Econometrics, Chapter 17. Limited Dependent Variable Models and Sample Selection Corrections.

Section 2: Women and Labor Market Outcomes  
By Professor Zhao Yaohui

May 26:
1. Theories of labor market discrimination

Lecture:        
    Factors causing gender wage differential
Labor market discrimination: definition
II.     Taste-based discrimination
III.    Occupational exclusion
Statistical discrimination

Computer Lab: Measuring labor market discrimination
Single equation method
Group equations and Oaxaca decomposition

May 27:
2. Measuring labor market discrimination

Lecture:
    Decomposing wage differential
Omitted variables
Skill differential
Occupational segregation
Analyzing the trend in gender wage differential

Computer Lab:
Decompose wage differential by incorporating occupational attainment
Analyze changes in gender wage gap

May 30:
3. Human Capital and Gender Wage Differential

Lecture:
I.    The schooling decision
II.    On the job training
III.    Empirical issues

Computer lab:
I.    Estimating returns to schooling
II.    Age-earning profiles
III.    Ability bias and correction
IV.    Selectivity bias and correction
Readings:

Altonji J. G. And R. M. Blank, “Race and Gender in the Labor Market,” in O. C. Ashenfelter and D. Card (eds.) Handbook in Labor Economics, Vol. 3C, 3143-3259

Blau. F. D. and L. M. Kahn, “Gender Differences in Pay,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 14, No. 4, 75-99, Fall, 2000

Oaxaca, R., 1973. “Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets,” International Economic Review, 14: 693-709.

Brown, R. S., M. Moom and B. S. Zoloth, 1980. “Incorporating Occupational Attainment in Studies of Male/Female Earnings Differentials,” Journal of Human Resources. 15: 3-28.

Blau, F. D. and L. M. Kahn, “Swimming Upstream: Trends in the Gender Wage Differential in the 1980s,” Jounal of Labor Economics, vol. 15, no.1, pt. 1, 1-42, 1997.

David, Card, "The Causal Effect of Education on Earnings," Handbook of Labor Economics, 1999, pp. 1802-1863.

Joshua Angrist and Alan Krueger, “Does Compulsory School Attendance Affect Schooling and Earnings?” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 106: 979-1014, 1991.


Section 3: Credit Market and Rural Development
By Professor Shen Minggao

May 31
1. Credit Market and Economic Development: Causality and Evidence

Lecture:
I.    Causality and tests
II.    Credit constraint: SME financing
III.    Credit constraint: farm household financing

Computer Lab:
I.    Tests of causality
II.    Tests of credit constraints
III.    Panel data analysis

June 1
2. Financial Intermediation and Informal Credit

Lecture:
I.    Theories of financial intermediation and informal credit
II.    Credit rationing
III.    Relational lending
IV.    Group lending
V.    Gender participation in credit markets

Computer Lab:
I.    Tests of information asymmetry
II.    Tests of credit rationing
III.    Nonlinearity
IV.    Endogeneity and IVs

June 2
3. Rural Development

Lecture:
I.    Market imperfections and non-separability
II.    Land tenure and investment incentives
III.    Credit and farm household transition
IV.    Credit and Income inequality

Computer Lab:
I.    Tests of non-separability
II.    Measurement errors
III.    Fixed effects

Readings:

Banerjee, Abhijit V., 2001. "Contracting Constraints, Credit Markets and Economic Development" MIT Dept. of Economics Working Paper No. 02-17.

Banerjee, Abhijit V. and Duflo, Esther, 2002. "Do Firms Want to Borrow More? Testing Credit Constraints Using a Directed Lending Program" MIT Department of Economics Working Paper No. 02-25.

Banerjee, Abhijit V. and Andrew F. Newman, 1993. “Occupational Choice and the Process of Development,” Journal of Political Economy, 101(2): 274-298.

Bell, Clive, T. N. Srinivansan, and Christopher Udry, 1997. “Rationing, Spillover, and Interlinking in Credit Markets: The Case of Rural Punjab,” Oxford Economic Papers, 49(4): 557-585.

Berger, Allen N., and Gregory F. Udell, 1995. “Relationship Lending and Lines of Credit in Small Firm Financing,” Journal of Business, 68(3): 351-381.

Berger, Allen N., Leora F. Klapper, and Gregory F. Udell, 2001. “The Ability of Banks to Lend to Informationally Opaque Small Businesses,” Journal of Banking and Finance, 25: 2127-2167.

Besley, Timothy, and Alec R. Levenson, 1996. “The Role of Informal Finance in Household Capital Accumulation: Evidence from Taiwan,” The Economic Journal, 106(434): 39-59.

Besley, Timothy, 1995. “Property Rights and Investment Incentives: Theory and Evidence from Ghana.” Journal of Political Economy, 103(5): 903-37.

Cantillo, Miguel, and Julian Wright, 2000. “How Do Firms Choose Their Lenders? An Empirical Investigation,” The Review of Financial Studies, 13(1): 155-189.

Carter, Michael and Yang Yao, 2002. “Local versus Global Tests of Separability in Agricultural Household Models: The Factor Price Equalization Effect of Land Transfer Rights.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 84(3): 702-715.

Cochrane, John H., 1991. “A Simple Test of Consumption Insurance,” Journal of Political Economy, 99(5): 957-976.

Gorton, Gary, 2002. “Financial Intermediation,” mimeo, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

McMillan, John, and Christopher Woodruff, 1999. “Inter-firm Relations and Informal Credit in Vietnam,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 114,

Levine, Ross, 1997. “Financial Development and Economic Growth: Views and Agenda,” Journal of Economic Literature, 35(2): 688-726.

Park, Albert, and Minggao Shen, 2003. “Joint Liability Lending and the Rise and Fall of China’s Township and Village Enterprises,” Journal of Development Economics, 71: 497-531.

Shen, Minggao, 2005a. “Credit Constraints and Household Financing: Panel Data Evidence From Rural China,” mimeo, CCER, Peking University.

Shen, Minggao, 2005b. “Information Asymmetry and Financing: Choice of Lenders by Chinese Private Enterprises,” mimeo, CCER, Peking University.

Zeldes, Stephen P., 1989. “Consumption and Liquidity Constraint: An Empirical Investigation,” Journal of Political Economy, 97(2): 305-346.

Section 4: Follow-up Econometrics Training
By Professor Dong Xiao-yuan

May 2006:
Lecture: 1.  Instrumental Variable Estimation
Simultaneous Equations Models

Computer Lab: STATA programs for IV and 2SLS methods   
Readings:

Wooldridge, Jeffrey M., Introductory Econometrics, Chapter 15 Instrumental Variables Estimation and Two Stage Least Squares, Chapter 16 Simultaneous Equation Models, and Chapter 19 Carrying Out an Empirical Project.  


第三期中国女经济学者研究培训项目通告

鉴于前两期女经济学者研究培训项目的成功进行并应广大女经济学者们的要求，福特基金会决定支持女经济学者研究培训项目继续办下去。 第三期“中国女经济学者研究培训班”将于2005年5月启动。这个项目是海外经济学家和北京大学中国经济研究中心联合主持。项目旨在提高国内各大专院校及研究机构中女经济学者的研究能力，加强海内外女经济学者之间的交流与合作。通过这个项目鼓励更多的女学者从事经济学研究，改变中国女经济学者稀少的现象，在不远的将来能有更多的中国女经济学者在国际讲坛上宣读或发表自己的研究成果，促进中国经济学研究与世界结轨。

该项目的主要内容为培训应用经济学的研究，偏重利用微观数据进行经济研究的数理方法。培训项目将由授课和后续辅导两部分组成。首先是对学员进行为期两周大约70学时的强化培训。培训期间学员将在教员辅导下写研究计划提纲，结束时根据学员的研究提纲，项目将委派辅导员对学员后续的研究工作进行一对一指导，研究成果将在下一年夏季召开的中国女经济学者论坛上发表。授课与担任研究辅导的教员都是活跃在国际学术界从事中国问题研究的经济学家。

至2002年项目启动以来，女经济学者研究培训项目得到了各大专院校及研究机构的强烈反响。由于人力物力有限，前两期培训班共择优录取了三十一名学员。目前这些女学者们在十余名海内外学者的指导下, 已经取得初步科研成果. 有十二名女学者先後在第二，三届中国经济学年会上宣读她们研究的初步成果, 得到了与会者的一致好评, 其中部分文章已在中国经济学季刊上发表。还有三名女学者在2004年6月中旬的关于中国民营经济和入世后中国的三农问题国际研讨会上宣读她们的论文。在2004年举办的第四届中国经济学年会上又有十二名学员宣读她们科研论文。关于前两期学员，指导教师，及研究题目，请阅读本通告附录二。

第三期女经济学者研究培训项目将在2005年5月23日至6月3日北京大学中国经济研究中心举办。培训课程将包括以下内容：妇女地位与家庭资源分配理论，人力资本理论, 劳动力市场性别歧视研究，农户经济行为与土地制度分析等。关于项目的详细情况, 请阅读刊登在 <http://forum/ccer.edu.cn/forum> 的“Description of the Research Training and Mentoring Program for Young Women Economists”.

费用：应福特基金会的要求，项目部分费用由受培训学者承担，学习期间食宿自理。学员可以要求住北大招待所（标准间，两人合住约140元／天，人），或自己解决住宿。教学资料和计算机使用费用每位学员1000元. 北大出据收据可报销。项目结束时将由培训项目颁发结业证书。

招生对象为在大专院校和研究机构从事科研或教学的女经济学者。具体要求如下：
具有经济学硕士或博士学位，在职读上述学位者在读期间也可考虑。
修过现代经济学研究生课程，包括至少一学期的微观经济学和一学期的计量经济学。
能够熟练阅读英文文献。
在公共政策研究方面有研究兴趣和经验。
有应用经济数据从事研究的经验, (微观数据优先考虑)。

报名时请提供如下材料：
1。申请信。请在信中说明参加本项目的动机和研究兴趣以及在培训项目期间有兴趣进行研究的题目。
2。介绍研究课题初步想法的研究提纲。提纲的具体要求，请见附录一。