The African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) invites proposals from early-career African and Africa-focused economists for commissioned research studies under its Industrial Policy and Growth in Africa Project.

The project aims to generate rigorous, policy-relevant evidence on the factors influencing industrialisation, firm productivity, investment and structural transformation across Africa. It seeks to evaluate the effectiveness and cost of industrial policy instruments and inform governments, investment-promotion agencies and regional institutions on the design of growth-enhancing industrial strategies.

The call welcomes country-specific, multi-country and sector-focused studies that address priority research questions using existing data. Research teams combining researchers at African institutions with international institutions are particularly encouraged.

Funding and Support

• Maximum grant: US$10,000 per commissioned study.
• Eligible costs: Researcher time, access or licence fees for existing secondary data, and software required for analysis.
• Project duration: Research must be feasible for completion within 18 months.
• Additional support: Grantees will receive mentorship from senior researchers and participate in workshops offering editorial and methodological support.

Funding does not cover primary data collection, including new surveys and interviews, or field travel. Applicants must already have, or have confirmed access to, the data required for their proposed study.

Purpose and Objectives

The project aims to:

• Generate empirical evidence on the drivers of firm productivity, investment and structural transformation.
• Evaluate the effectiveness and cost of industrial policy instruments, including tax incentives, special economic zones, trade policy and sector-specific measures.
• Inform the design and implementation of industrial strategies across African economies.
• Produce high-quality academic research for internationally refereed journals.
• Strengthen research capacity and support the development of early-career economists.

Priority Areas or Scope of Work

Proposals must address one or more relevant research questions under the following seven themes:

1. Policy instruments, allocation and firm dynamics: Assess the effects and cost-effectiveness of tax incentives, subsidies, special economic zones, firm productivity constraints and other industrial policy instruments.
2. Special economic zones, industrial parks and place-based policy: Examine the effects of zones and industrial parks on exports, employment, productivity, spillovers and distributional outcomes.
3. Foreign direct investment, linkages and domestic capabilities: Investigate FDI composition, spillovers to domestic firms, supplier relationships, knowledge-sharing networks and industrial clusters.
4. Trade, AfCFTA and regional value chains: Explore regional integration, export opportunities, non-tariff barriers, rules of origin and the effects of trade liberalisation.
5. Agriculture and agro-processing: Examine local processing policies, contract farming, smallholder productivity, domestic value addition and agro-industrial development.
6. Natural resources and critical minerals: Investigate mineral beneficiation, restrictions on raw-material exports, domestic processing and opportunities for regional value chains.
7. Data and measurement: Explore the use of satellite imagery, mobile-money transactions and other alternative data to measure firm entry, exit and capacity utilisation.

Cross-cutting priorities include the long-term effects of policy, spillovers to other firms, cost-effectiveness, distributional outcomes by gender and skill level, and under-researched countries and sectors.

Proposals may address a listed research question, a well-defined part of one, or a closely related question within a theme, provided the connection to the theme is clear.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must meet all the following requirements:

• The lead applicant and all co-applicants must hold a PhD in Economics or a closely related field.
• The PhD must have been awarded in 2016 or later.
• Applicants must already have, or have confirmed access to, the data required for their proposed study.
• The proposed research must address one or more of the call's themes and demonstrate a credible methodology and feasible research plan.

Research teams are encouraged, particularly those combining researchers from African and international institutions. Applications from female economists and Francophone and Lusophone economists are particularly encouraged.

Geographic Scope

Africa-wide. Country-specific, multi-country and sector studies are welcome, provided they address industrial policy and growth in African economies. International research collaboration is encouraged.

Important Dates

• Call opening date: 23 October 2026
• Proposal submission deadline: 21 November 2026, midnight East Africa Time (EAT)
• Expected notification of selection: 31 December 2026

Application Process

Applications must be submitted through the AERC Research and Capacity Development Portal.

Proposals must be written in English or French and must not exceed 2,000 words, excluding CVs, the budget table and references. Applications must follow the prescribed structure:

1. Title, theme and abstract: Maximum 250 words.
2. Introduction and motivation: Maximum 400 words.
3. Data and methodology: Maximum 600 words, including evidence of data access, descriptive statistics, empirical strategy and identification strategy.
4. Expected outputs and publication strategy: Maximum 250 words.
5. Team composition and roles: Maximum 300 words.
6. Timeline and budget: Maximum 200 words, plus a budget table totalling no more than US$10,000.
7. Appendices: Short CVs of all team members, including the year of PhD completion, and proof of the PhD award date.

Applicants must demonstrate that their data are available and suitable for the proposed analysis, including a brief descriptive-statistics section.

Funded studies are expected to target and achieve publication in internationally refereed journals ranked CABS-AJG 2 or above, or the equivalent ABDC or Scopus tier. Grantees must also prepare a short policy brief summarising their findings for policymakers.

Industry / Sector

Professional economic research; industrial policy; economic development; trade and regional integration; investment; manufacturing; agro-processing; natural resources and critical minerals; research and policy analysis.

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