Fellows Reflect on Intensive Course in Gender-Aware Macro Modeling
Last month, the Care Work and the Economy project partnered with the Levy Economics Institute at Bard College to host a three-week Intensive Course in Gender-Sensitive Macroeconomic Modelling taught in three time zones. The course aimed to engage our internationally diverse pool of Fellows to enhance capacity building in research and teaching of gender-sensitive economic analysis, focusing on care and macroeconomic policy aspects.
The course was built on four pillars:
1. Understanding and measuring the care economy
2. Adapting social accounting matrices to account for paid and unpaid care activities.
3. The use of information from time-use surveys on unpaid care activities with other relevant sources and information such as national income accounts, labor force surveys, and household or special surveys
4. Performing policy-relevant economic analyses that take systematic account of the interlinkages between care, macroeconomic processes, and distribution.
With 72 Fellows from 22 countries, including Colombia, Ghana, Mexico, Mongolia (to name a few), discussions around course material were perspective-rich and interdisciplinary. Reflecting on the course, many Fellows expressed the desire to integrate the teachings of the intensive course into their research agendas or current positions:
“I am delighted [to be a part of] a fantastic cohort and faculty who want to, and actually do, think critically about [macroeconomic] modelling in a gender-aware or feminist context…I am excited about the possibility of applying what I have learned to Cuban and Latin American contexts, [and] I would like to delve deeper into the Levy Micro-Macro model to analyze gender differences [in] the Ecuadorian context using time-use data.” — Anamary Maqueira Linares, Ph.D. student at University of Massachusetts, Amherst from Ecuador
“Inspired by Professor Folbre’s [lecture], I would like to conduct research using updated time-use surveys (such as the Mexican case)…I would like to explore the differences between time-use patterns in rural areas versus urban ones in Mexico and compare data from 2014 to the recent time-use survey in 2019. I am also organizing a workshop with the Mexican Statistics Agency [to explore] how the Mexican database was built (contrasted with other countries’ surveys) and promote its use among Mexican graduate students and policymakers.” — Dulce Guevara Lopez, consultant at the Mexican Centre for Innovation in Solar Energy
“It was interesting to learn how care and social reproduction interact with gender inequality in the labour market to determine economic growth/development. I think that [this would be] a good research perspective in the African context to see how household commodities and care-time interact with the gender segmented labour market to determine economic growth.” — Dr. Mamaye Thiongane, research associate at the Regional Consortium for Research in Generational Economy (CREG) and lecturer in economics at the Public Economics Laboratory (LEP)
“The discussions around the care diamond gave me a framework to think through the situation of community health workers in India. I plan to apply the Levy model and the care dependency ratio to the time-use survey for India. The course also helped me gather feminist insights to incorporate into the macro course that I teach at university.” — Dr. Anjana Thampi, assistant professor of economics at O. P. Jindal Global University, India
“The course was a fantastic deep-dive into the theory and practice of [macroeconomic] modelling for care, and sparked new ideas for my Ph.D. research. At a time when distances feel huge, the conversations and connections with lecturers and colleagues created a sense of closeness; something I will treasure this summer.” — Maria Sandoval Guzman, Ph.D. candidate in Economics at Curtin University in Australia, and scholar at the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre and the Women in Social Economic Research Cluster
This course has strengthened the network of researchers around the world dedicated to gender equality and proper care valuation; thank you to all Fellows, Instructors, and Facilitators for their contributions. To learn more about the course, instructors, and Fellows, click here.
This blog was written by Lucie Prewitt, research and communications assistant for the Care Work and the Economy Project.
- Published in Gender-Aware Macromodels, Gender-Equal Economy, Intensive Course, Macroeconomics, Uncategorized
Last Call for Applications! An Intensive Virtual Course in Gender-Sensitive Macroeconomic Modelling June 28-July 17, 2021
Organized by the American University’s Care Work and the Economy Project and Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
The purpose of this course is to engage with fellow economists to enhance capacity building in research and teaching of gender-sensitive economic analysis, with a focus on care and macroeconomic policy aspects. The course will be built on four pillars: a) understanding and measuring the care economy; b) adapting social accounting matrices to account for paid and unpaid care activities; c) integrating the information from time-use surveys on unpaid care activities with other relevant sources of information such as national income accounts, labor force surveys and household or special surveys; and d) performing policy-relevant economic analyses that take systematic account of the interlinkages between care, macroeconomic processes, and distribution.
We encourage economists in academia, research institutions, government, and civil society organizations to apply. The applicants must have completed at least two years of study in a graduate economics program or have received a Masters’ or Ph.D. degree in economics. The course will be conducted over three weeks. Five days a week, students are expected to do the required reading and then meet virtually with instructors and fellow students. We estimate that the required reading will take at least an hour for most participants. Each meeting consists of an hour of lecture followed by an hour of group discussion or exercises guided by instructors. Sessions will be held daily over three weeks between 10 am and 12:15 pm (EDT, GMT, and ICT
The deadline for applications is April 8, 2021. We will communicate the decision on participation by May 8, 2021. If you require further information regarding the course, please contact: the AU-Levy Intensive Course Administrator, Thomas Masterson (masterso@levy.org), cc: Care Work and the Economy (CWE-GAM) Project Manager, Shirin Arslan (sarslan@american.edu).
This course is made possible by the generous support of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Please submit your application package via the form at this link. Email Thomas Masterson if you have any questions at: masterso@levy.org.
The application package should be a single PDF document. It should contain:
- Current curriculum vita that includes the following:
- Personal information: name, address, date of birth, nationality, and sex.
- Educational background: institutions attended beginning with the current or most recent; and degree awarded in each institution.
- Employment: list of employers beginning with the current or most recent; and, brief description of the position held and responsibilities at each job.
- Language proficiency: native language, whether English was a medium of instruction, and score in English proficiency test, if applicable.
- Sample of written academic work in English.
- Personal statement (under 750 words): a brief description of the applicant’s background, experience, and motivation for taking the course.
- For applicants currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program or with a Ph.D. or M.A. degree in the last two years, a copy of their transcripts in the Ph.D. or the M.A. program.
Letter of recommendation from someone familiar with the applicant’s training in economics.
Call for Applications An Intensive Virtual Course in Gender-Sensitive Macroeconomic Modelling for Policy Analysis June 28-July 17, 2021
Organized by the American University’s Care Work and the Economy Project and Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
The purpose of this course is to engage with fellow economists to enhance capacity building in research and teaching of gender-sensitive economic analysis, with a focus on care and macroeconomic policy aspects. The course will be built on four pillars: a) understanding and measuring the care economy; b) adapting social accounting matrices to account for paid and unpaid care activities; c) integrating the information from time-use surveys on unpaid care activities with other relevant sources of information such as national income accounts, labor force surveys and household or special surveys; and d) performing policy-relevant economic analyses that take systematic account of the interlinkages between care, macroeconomic processes, and distribution. Our goal is to guide the participants toward the formulation of viable research projects focused on addressing care needs in developing countries through a better understanding of the care economy and the formulation of gender-sensitive macroeconomic policies. Hence, the program will comprise lectures by experts and hands-on training in analytics.
We are especially interested in participants who either would like to or are currently involved in research aimed at influencing policymaking in order to address care needs in their countries. We particularly seek applications from the following countries: Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, Mexico, Mongolia, Senegal, Morocco, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Thailand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Vietnam. Women and minorities (ethnic, racial, and other) are encouraged to apply.
We encourage economists in academia, research institutions, government, and civil society organizations to apply. The applicants must have completed at least two years of study in a graduate economics program or have received a Masters’ or Ph.D. degree in economics. We also expect that participants have the ability to analyze data using Excel. We also consider the ability to analyze data with STATA or other similar statistical software such as R highly desirable.These requirements may be waived under exceptional circumstances. The program will be conducted in English. Therefore, applicants are expected to be fluent in written and spoken English.
The course has two components. The self-study preparatory module of the course will require the students to complete a set of assigned readings before the start of the virtual intensive course. These readings will help the students acquaint themselves with the conceptual and technical aspects of the material to be covered in the course. The second component of the course is the set of lectures and hands-on training to be conducted virtually. There will be some degree of overlap between the readings for the self-study module and the required readings assigned for the lectures. The goal of the online lectures and group exercises/discussions is to deepen the understanding of the participants regarding the topics discussed in the self-study module and introduce the participants to recent research in gender-aware economic analysis with a focus on policy issues. We will also provide hands-on training in developing the modeling skills of the participants, including training in gender-sensitive analysis using packages such as STATA.
The course will be conducted over three weeks. Five days a week, students are expected to do the required reading and then meet virtually with instructors and fellow students. We estimate that the required reading will take at least an hour for most participants. Each meeting consists of an hour of lecture followed by an hour of group discussion or exercises guided by instructors. Sessions will be held daily over three weeks between 10 am and 12:15 pm (EDT, GMT, and ICT). Given the format and time requirements of the course, applicants are expected to make this time commitment for the entire duration of the course. Accepted applicants will be provided a modest stipend to help meet such needs as childcare, internet, and software, upon completion of the course.
We are offering the course in three time zones: Eastern Time (EDT: UTC–05:00), Greenwich Mean Time (GMT: UTC+0), and Indochina Time (ICT: UTC+8:00). The curriculum is uniform across time zones. We require that students admitted to the course choose one time zone for the entire course, to facilitate a more cohesive and effective learning experience. The course will be held between June 28, 2021, and July 16, 2021, for the EDT and GMT time zones and between June 29, 2021, and July 17, 2021, for the ICT time zone.
The deadline for applications is April 8, 2021. We will communicate the decision on participation by May 8, 2021. If you require further information regarding the course, please contact: the AU-Levy Intensive Course Administrator, Thomas Masterson (masterso@levy.org), cc: Care Work and the Economy (CWE-GAM) Project Manager, Shirin Arslan (sarslan@american.edu).
This course is made possible by the generous support of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Application procedure
Please submit your application package via the form at this link. Email Thomas Masterson if you have any questions at: masterso@levy.org.
The application package should be a single PDF document. It should contain:
- Current curriculum vita that includes the following:
- Personal information: name, address, date of birth, nationality, and sex.
- Educational background: institutions attended beginning with the current or most recent; and degree awarded in each institution.
- Employment: list of employers beginning with the current or most recent; and, brief description of the position held and responsibilities at each job.
- Language proficiency: native language, whether English was a medium of instruction, and score in English proficiency test, if applicable.
- Sample of written academic work in English.
- Personal statement (under 750 words): a brief description of the applicant’s background, experience, and motivation for taking the course.
- For applicants currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program or with a Ph.D. or M.A. degree in the last two years, a copy of their transcripts in the Ph.D. or the M.A. program.
Letter of recommendation from someone familiar with the applicant’s training in economics.
UPDATE: INTENSIVE COURSE IN GENDER-SENSITIVE MACROECONOMIC MODELING FOR POLICY ANALYSIS
The Intensive Course in Gender-Sensitive Macroeconomic Modeling for Policy Analysis to be held at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College (Blithewood, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY) in July 2020 has been postponed to July 2021.
The decision was made by the organizing committee, in consideration of the health and safety of both participants and instructors, as well as assessments of current and potential travel restrictions in the U.S. and around the world.
The July 2021 Course will be held at the Levy Economics Institute, exact dates and details will be posted in future announcements. We expect to provide more specific information by Fall 2020. Please continue to visit the Care Work and the Economy website and the Levy Economics Institute website and follow @careworkeconomy on Twitter for future announcements about the course.
The Organizing Committee of the Intensive Course in Gender-Sensitive Macroeconomic Modeling for Policy Analysis would like to thank each of the 160 applicants received from 40+ countries. If you have further questions about the course, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Care Work and the Economy project at American University (careworkeconomy@american.edu).
Applications Open for the Intensive Course in Gender-Sensitive Macroeconomic Modeling for Policy Analysis
The call for applications for the Intensive Course in Gender-Sensitive Macroeconomic Modeling for Policy Analysis to be held at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College (Blithewood, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY) from July 8-14, 2020 is now open. The institute is sponsored by: the Care Work and the Economy Project, Program on Gender Analysis in Economics at American University, and the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College.
The purpose of this course is to engage with fellow economists to enhance capacity building in research and teaching of gender-sensitive economic analysis, with a focus on care and macroeconomic policy aspects. The course will be built on four pillars, namely: a) understanding and measuring the care economy; b) adapting social accounting matrices to account for paid and unpaid care activities; c) integrating the information from time-use surveys on unpaid care activities with other relevant sources of information, such as national income accounts, labor force surveys, and household or special surveys; and d) performing policy-relevant economic analyses that take systematic account of the interlinkages between care, macroeconomic processes, and distribution. Our goal is to guide the participants toward the formulation of viable research projects focused on addressing care needs in developing countries through a better understanding of the care economy and the formulation of gender-sensitive macroeconomic policies. Hence, the program will be comprised of lectures by experts, hands-on training in analytics, and mentoring.
We are especially interested in participants who either would like to be or are currently involved in research aimed at influencing policymaking in order to address care needs in their countries. We particularly seek applications from the following countries: Colombia, Ghana, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Senegal, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Thailand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Uruguay, and Vietnam. Women, minorities (ethnic, racial, and other), and teams of country researchers are encouraged to apply. We will cover the travel and accommodation costs of successful applicants.
We encourage economists in academia, research institutions, government, and civil society organizations to apply. The applicants must have completed at least two years of study in a graduate economics program, or have received a masters or PhD in economics. We also expect that participants have the ability to analyze data using Excel. We also consider the ability to analyze data with STATA or other similar statistical software (such as R) highly desirable. These requirements may be waived under exceptional circumstances. The program will be conducted in English; therefore, applicants are expected to be fluent in written and spoken English.
The course has three components. The self-study module of the course will require the students to complete a set of assigned readings before they arrive at the Levy Institute. These readings will help the students acquaint themselves with the conceptual and technical aspects of the material to be covered in the course. The second component of the course is the set of lectures and hands-on training to be conducted at the Levy Institute. There will be some degree of overlap between the readings for the self-study module and the readings assigned for the lectures. The goal of the lectures is to deepen the participants’ understanding regarding the topics discussed in the self-study module and introduce the participants to recent research in gender-aware economic analysis with a focus on policy issues. We will also provide hands-on training in developing participants’ the modeling skills, including training in analysis using packages such as STATA. Finally, the mentoring component of the course will enable the participant to make progress toward formulating a research project along with other participants and mentors.
The deadline for applications is March 8, 2020. Interested applicants should complete the online application form and submit the required materials via this link on Google forms. We will communicate the decision on participation before March 30, 2020. If you have issues with online submission or require further information regarding the course, please contact Kathleen Mullaly (mullaly@levy.org).
This course is organized by Maria Floro, Professor, Department of Economics, American University and Care Work and the Economy (CWE-GAM) Principal Investigator; Paula Herrera Idárraga, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Economics, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana; Thomas Masterson, Research Scholar and Director of Applied Micromodeling, Levy Institute; Ana Maria Tribin, Senior Researcher, Central Bank, Colombia; and Ajit Zacharias, Senior Scholar and Program Director, Distribution of Income and Wealth program, Levy Institute.
The course is made possible by the generous support of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.