Call For Papers | Pathways to Development Conference 2023

The Pathways to Development Conference will be held on December 18-19, 2023 at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)Call For Papers

Economic growth and poverty reduction can, and often do, exist with widening inequalities between and within countries. Inequalities matter because unequal societies have lower levels of human capital, less social cohesion and lower trust in the state. Inequalities threaten to destabilise societies, arrest development and create injustice and indignity for the poor and marginalised. Economic, social and political inequalities can systematically exclude marginalised groups from any progress experienced by wider society.

While economic growth rates are a mainstay in policy planning, much less attention is paid to how growth, development, participation, and progress is distributed across geographies and populations, or the ways in which burdens of poverty, violence and climate change are disproportionately borne by the few. Various forms of inequalities – gender, vast differences in wealth, identity-based discrimination along ethnic, religious and linguistic lines, by location and disabilities – intersect to exacerbate the effects of one on the other.

The second Pathways to Development Conference is issuing a Call for Papers for work on Inequalities and Social Justice in economics, sociology, politics and political economy, to find solutions to the grand challenges constraining sustainable growth in Pakistan and the region. The work on various dimensions of inequalities may be located within broader thematic areas such as that of public health, the labour market, education, gender, climate change, political movements and participation, urban development and others.

Keynote Speakers

  • Dr. Naila Kabeer – Professor of Gender & Development, London School of Economics and Political Science
  • Dr. Stefan Dercon – Professor of Economic Policy, University of Oxford

Types of Proposals

  • Individual Papers: Submissions should include paper title, names and affiliations of authors (noting the presenter) and the full paper. Extended abstracts can also be submitted for individual papers. A full paper has a higher likelihood of being accepted. An extended abstract should be between 500 to 800 words, and should include a paper title, a description of the study/theme, research questions, brief description of the methodology and emerging findings.
  • Paper Sessions: Paper sessions can comprise up to 3 full papers and a discussant. Submissions should include a brief description of the theme of the session, paper titles, names and affiliations of authors (noting the presenters and session convener), names and affiliations of discussants, and extended abstracts for all papers part of the session. An extended abstract should be between 500 to 800 words, and should include a paper title, a description of the study/theme, research questions, brief description of the methodology and emerging findings.
  • Panel Sessions: The format for panel sessions is for presentations by speakers to draw on a body of empirical work (as opposed to a single paper). Submissions for panel sessions should include the topic title, a brief description of the topic (up to 200 words), name and affiliation of the panel convener, names and affiliation of speakers.

Submission Details

To apply, please submit proposals / full papers / extended abstracts by July 31, 2023. Submissions are to be made via email to conference@ideaspak.org with the subject: ‘Submission for Path2Dev Conference 2023.’ All submissions should clearly mention names, affiliations and contact details of authors and/or suggested presenters. Accepted applicants will be notified by Sept 30, 2023. Submissions accepted on the basis of extended abstracts will be expected to submit full papers by Oct 31, 2023.

Across all types of submissions, we welcome work grounded in rigorous empirical methods – including qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods used in the social sciences – on dimensions of inequalities that focus on Pakistan, as well as papers from other settings that have implications for Pakistan’s context. Submissions will be peer reviewed by referees with a track record of academic publications in various areas. Some submissions may be considered for academic poster sessions.

Please note that limited funds are available for travel and accommodation. Our priority is to defray the costs for early career researchers and PhD students from low and middle income countries.

For any queries, please drop us an email at: conference@ideaspak.org.

Pathways to Development Conference 2022

The first Pathways to Development Conference was held in December 2022 on the themes of equitable and sustainable development in Pakistan. 22 panel sessions were held over the three day event, where 50+ academics had the opportunity to present research papers and engage with practitioners and policymakers. Keynote speakers for the inaugural conference included Dr. Ghazala Mansuri (World Bank) and Dr. Leonard Wantchekon (Princeton University), along with presentations by scholars from local and international universities including Yale University, University of Oxford, University of Warwick, Pomona College, Stanford University, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Institute of Business Administration Karachi, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Quaid-i-Azam University and Lahore School of Economics.

The conference was hosted jointly by the following institutions: Institute of Development & Economic Alternatives (IDEAS), Chaudhry Nazar Muhammad Department of Economics at LUMS, Mahbub ul Haq Research Centre at LUMS, Institute of Development Studies at University of Sussex (IDS), Consortium for Development Policy Research (CDPR), International Growth Centre, and Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP).

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