If you have earned a PhD in Economics, Agricultural Economics or Natural Resource Economics, and you wish to conduct research that will enhance livelihoods and improve resource management in developing countries, you could be the person we are looking for. We seek a highly motivated postdoctoral fellow to study the farm-level and regional economics of water use in agriculture, with the goal of contributing to policy discussions in national
and international forums. Your work with IWMI will involve such topics as water pricing and allocation, economic incentives, water rights, governance structures, and the potential risks and rewards to farm-level investments in irrigation. You will be involved in the study of the economics of groundwater use, both spatially and over time, and analyze policy options for improving groundwater management. You will also contribute to our understanding of the
risks and rewards to investments in rainfed agriculture in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where IWMI conducts most of its research. We will ask you also to assist in developing and applying hydro-economic models to examine questions involving regional and international water resource issues.
Many of the studies you conduct will contribute directly to policy discussions involving the best ways to increase agricultural productivity, improve farm incomes and enhance food security in water-scarce regions. While reporting to IWMI’s Principal Economist, you will have the unique opportunity to work closely with many notable social and physical scientists at our headquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and our regional offices across Asia and Africa. If this opportunity appeals to your sense of intellectual adventure, please read on, to learn additional details regarding your duties and qualifications.
You will:
• conduct research consistent with IWMI’s mission and priorities, in collaboration with other IWMI researchers;
• conceive research projects that involve IWMI colleagues and our scholarly partners in national research centers;
• prepare research proposals, in cooperation with colleagues, for funding to support IWMI’s economics program;
• publish results in international scientific journals and other outlets, while enhancing the uptake of results by targeted groups;
• demonstrate the potential contribution of improved water management in irrigated and rainfed settings to economic growth, poverty reduction and food security;
• describe financial and economic aspects of proposed investments in irrigation, and investments in agriculture in rainfed areas;
• design and apply hydro-economic models in the study of economic issues in regional, national and international settings;
• contribute to policy discussions regarding economic incentives, regulatory proposals, and investments that influence farm-level and regional agricultural productivity; and
• enhance understanding of complementary investments required on farms and across the value-chain to ensure that farm households can increase their output and enhance food security in sustainable ways, in both irrigated and rainfed settings.
Fellowship Application Deadline: 24 January 2011
