The Gender, Growth and Labour Markets in Low-Income Countries (G²LM|LIC) programme is sponsored by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and managed by the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA). It has a budget of more than £10 million over 5 years to fund innovative research proposals on the link between jobs and poverty, gender-specific barriers and the growth implications of improving the allocation of talent in low-income settings.
The programme marks the extension of the successful IZA/DFID cooperation, which started as the Growth and Labour Markets in Low-Income Countries (GLM|LIC) programme in 2011. Directed by David Lam (University of Michigan and IZA), the first project phase funded 43 research projects, selected in a competitive process from over 230 research proposals. The output from the projects, including published articles in highly ranked economic journals as well as policy briefs, is accessible here. The findings substantially expanded global knowledge and provided important insights into successful policy interventions.
A particular focus of the new funding period will be on enhancing equality of opportunity for women in the labour market. The G²LM|LIC programme, directed by Oriana Bandiera (London School of Economics and IZA), will have three Open Calls, the first one in July 2019, to attract excellence in labour economics and encourage innovative proposals. National and international debates and engagements with policy makers will be annually organised, and trainings and peer events will continue to build the capacity of researchers in this field.
The official launch of the programme will be on June 19 at the London School of Economics, with an inaugural workshop including presentations by several leading scholars and a panel discussion.