UZBEKISTAN TRAINING COURSE ON ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS

In late May IFPRI’s Central Asia Program, in collaboration with local institutions, will hold a nine-day applied econometric analysis training course for young researchers in Uzbekistan (age 35 and under). Fifteen applicants have been selected to participate based on their research interests, background, and knowledge and skill level in quantitative methods. After completing the course, participants will join together with other researchers at the Third Forum of Young Economists of Uzbekistan, held immediately after the conclusion of the course.

The main objective of the course is to strengthen the capacity of young researchers to conduct empirical research in economics and related fields; it will increase their potential to contribute research and analysis to social and economic development policies in Uzbekistan and the Central Asia region as a whole. Accordingly, the curriculum will teach the participants to construct research questions, design a statistically sound model and identification strategy, and interpret findings for use in applied work. The course lectures will be accompanied with practical hands-on learning exercises using real-world data.

The training course is part of a joint effort to enhance economic analysis capacities among researchers in Uzbekistan. IFPRI researchers will teach the course alongside instructors from Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT), which is also hosting the training on its campus and providing classroom space, computer labs, and statistical software (Stata). The course is organized in partnership with WIUT, the CGIAR Project Facilitation Unit for CAC countries, the Institute for Forecasting and Macroeconomic Research under the Cabinet of Ministers in Uzbekistan (IFMR), and UNDP Uzbekistan.

In addition to co-teaching the course, IFPRI will sponsor a portion of the course expenses, as part of its capacity strengthening efforts under its Central Asia Program. Promising participants will be invited for a professional internship with IFPRI.