Upcoming events organised by UNU-MERIT and MGSoG http://www.merit.unu.edu/seminars/ UNU-MERIT 2013 May 29, 2013, 09:00 - MSM, Endepolsdomein 150, Maastricht - The International Policy Debate on Remittances, Entrepreneurship and Development brings together policy makers, practitioners and academics to discuss the past and future of research and policies that address remittances, entrepreneurship and development in a globalizing world. The day will consist of three parts: 1) current evidence on linkages between migration, remittances, entrepreneurship and development, 2) state of the art on policies and programs on remittances, entrepreneurship and development, and 3) policy options to strengthen the development effects of remittances and entrepreneurship. The International Policy is a joint initiative of Maastricht Graduate School of Governance and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will take place on May 29th. http://mgsog.merit.unu.edu/permalink.php?id=853 May 30, 2013 - May 31, 2013 - MSM, Endepolsdomein 150, Maastricht - The Maastricht School of Management and the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance will hold a two−day workshop on 30−31 May 2013 to review the state−of−the−art on research into the links between migration and entrepreneurship. The first day of the workshop will be dedicated to migrant entrepreneurs in the host country and the second to return migrants or transnational entrepreneurs in the home country. http://mgsog.merit.unu.edu/ISacademie/mteer/ speaker: Ortrud Leßmann , - May 30, 2013, 12:30 - Conference Room - Measuring income poverty involves two steps: Identifying the poor by setting a poverty line and aggregating poverty across individuals to determine overall poverty in society. Extending this framework to multidimensional poverty introduces aggregation across dimensions as a third step. Multidimensionality also affects the identification step since there is more than one poverty line. In my talk I explain the problems and possible solutions of the identification problem. The capability approach is a multidimensional approach and has to deal with these problems. Beyond arguing for multidimensionality of poverty the capability approach puts emphasis on freedom of choice, claiming that a person who can choose among several options is better off than someone who cannot do so. It is difficult to account for this idea in poverty measurement. However, the main purpose of poverty measurement is informing policy. Conclusions are drawn in this regard. http://www.merit.unu.edu/seminars/ Jun 03, 2013 - May 14, 2013 - Keizer Karelplein 19, Maastricht - Public policy is never designed or applied in a vacuum. It is conducted in a social, political, economic and administrative context, affecting the lives of all citizens in a given country. In times of transition, power and party politics have massive effects on public policy, with changes driven by inter alia conflicting actors, depleted resources and general uncertainty about the future. This two−week intensive course studies the impact on public policy of the changing environment in the Middle East. Focusing on the Arab Spring countries, the course uses Egypt in particular as a case study. Registration is FREE and open to MPP students from the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, students from other faculties of Maastricht University, and interested external participants. Subject to satisfactory participation, the course accounts for 2 ECTS points. http://mgsog.merit.unu.edu/education/pppsr/ speaker: Martin Srholec, CERGE−EI, Prague and CIRCLE, Lund University - Jun 06, 2013, 12:30 - Conference Room - This paper discusses the role of capabilities − and policies that affect these − for growth and development. The capability concept is frequently used in analyses of firms. However, it is also used at the level of nations. Capabilities at the national level may be defined broadly as "social capabilities", as done by the economic historian Moses Abramovitz, or more narrowly as "technological capabilities" as suggested by for instance the development scholars Lin−Su Kim and Sanjaya Lall. This paper argues that technological and social capabilities interact in the process of development, and that policy may have a great impact not only through traditional science and technology policies, but also through its impact on the broader social capabilities which, the paper argues, are crucial for the exploitation of technological capabilities. Based on recent research the paper discusses how technological and social capabilities can be measured and how growth and development are affected. Factor analysis on a broad set of indicators covering various aspects of these capabilities is used to generate composite variables of technological and social capabilities. This leads to the formulation of an econometric model which is applied to a pooled cross−country time−series dataset covering 100 countries between 1995 and 2011. Various other factors identified in the literature on growth and development as being potentially relevant are also accounted for. The final section presents the conclusions from the study and discusses the implications for policy in countries with different characteristics/development levels. http://www.merit.unu.edu/seminars/ speaker: Tomasz Janowski, United Nations University - Jun 20, 2013, 12:30 - Conference Room - Electronic Governance (EGOV) research studies the use of Information and Communication Technologies to improve governance processes. Sustainable Development (SD) research studies possible development routes that satisfy the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. Despite substantial progress in advancing both domains independently, little research exists at their intersection — how to utilize EGOV in support of SD. We call this intersection Electronic Governance for Sustainable Development (EGOV4SD). This seminar will: 1) propose a conceptual framework for EGOV4SD, 2) propose EGOV4SD research assessment framework and 3) apply both frameworks to determine the state of EGOV4SD research. In the conclusion, the seminar will outline a possible research agenda to advance the state of EGOV4SD research. http://www.merit.unu.edu/seminars/ Jun 24, 2013 - Jun 28, 2013 - Bridgetown, Barbados - The Design and Evaluation of Innovation Policies in Developing Countries (DEIP) is a one−week course co−organized by the Caribbean Centre for Competitiveness (CCfC) of the University of the West Indies (a Centre funded by the IDB, DFID and CIDA) and UNU−MERIT (United Nations University − Maastricht Economic and Social Research institute on Innovation and Technology), Maastricht, The Netherlands. Increasingly popular since its launch in 2004, this course is designed for policy makers in science, technology and innovation policy, particularly in developing countries. DEIP provides insights into strategic decision−making about technology and innovation and designing appropriate responses and policies tailored to specific development contexts. Deadline for application: 27 May 2013 http://www.merit.unu.edu/training/deip_201306_barbados.php speaker: Armando Barrientos, Brooks World Poverty Institute - Jun 27, 2013, 12:30 - Since the turn of the century, antipoverty transfer programmes have emerged as one of the fastest growing interventions in international development policy and practice. Large scale social assistance programmes in middle income developing countries providing direct transfers make an important contribution to the reduction of poverty and vulnerability, and to knowledge on poverty and its remedies. Increasingly, antipoverty transfer programmes and social protection are seen as an essential component of an effective development strategy, combining growth, basic service provision, and social protection. However, research on their rationale and conceptual basis is lacking; and their design, effectiveness, and political effects are strongly contested. The paper examines the foundations of antipoverty transfers and assesses their future evolution in low and middle income countries. http://www.merit.unu.edu/seminars/ Jul 08, 2013 - Jul 19, 2013 - Maastricht - The objective of the course is to provide participants with a thorough background in the theory, method and practice of impact assessment for policies and programmes in the field of education This course is organized to provide participants with the skills to conduct impact assessments in diverse national contexts. The course concentrates on different stages of education, from basic (primary) to advanced (tertiary) and covers both the micro−economic perspective as well as the macro−economic perspective. An interesting characteristic of the course is that it also includes the latest topics such as the impact of new ICT technologies and tools as well as advanced econometric methods on educational outcomes. http://www.merit.unu.edu/training/summerschools.php Sep 05, 2013 - Sep 06, 2013 - Telecom ParisTech, Paris, France - Telecom ParisTech will host the 8th annual conference of The EPIP (European Policy for Intellectual Property) association in Paris, Sept. 5−6, 2013. Scholars and practitioners interested in the economic, legal, political and managerial aspects of intellectual property rights are encouraged to attend the conference with or without scientific paper presentation. The conference will explore how Intellectual Property (IP) is related to the scientific and technological frontiers, to geographical frontiers as well as to competition policy or to contract law. http://www.epip.eu/conferences/epip08/ Nov 06, 2013 - Nov 08, 2013 - Santiago de Chile - The aim of this conference is to bring together researchers from around the world to discuss the importance of innovation for economic development and growth. This year we would like to emphasize research on novel collaborative approaches to research and innovation, and the role of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in innovation strategies and economic performance. Collaborative links –cross−sector (public−private), intra−sector (value chains) cross−industries and geographical (local and international) are nowadays a fundamental piece of innovation strategies in both public and private organizations. They are increasingly important innovation strategies in developing countries and in many cases deemed essential to accomplish certain research and innovation agendas. Collaborative approaches are also considered to be important for the emergence of New Technology Based Firms (NTBF). http://www.merit.unu.edu/MEIDE/