AERC wishes to announce the 2021/2022 Ph.D. thesis research grant support to African graduate students
registered in a PhD degree programme in Economics at institutions within or outside Africa. The support will
be specifically to students whose thesis research proposal is on human capital development in Africa.1
Research could also be targeted on a country or region.
The following are broad themes and sub-themes on human capital development in Africa for research:
1. Human Capital Formation and its Determinants (i.e., fertility, education and skills, health)
✔ Understanding Human Capital Formation and its Determinants
✔ Measuring and Interpreting Inequality
✔ Family Economics and Human Capital in the Family
✔ Health human capital and economic growth in Africa
2. Human Capital Drivers and Consequences (Population, Skills Acquisition, Migration and
Impacts)
✔ Measuring and Assessing Skills
✔ Human capital flight: stratification, globalization, and the challenges to tertiary education in
Africa
✔ The human resource crisis in health services in Africa
✔ The Impact of Brain Drain on Economic Development in Africa
3. Human Capital Depletion (Health and longevity, Investment/Financing quantum)
✔ Health and Schooling Investments in Africa
✔ Financing Human Capital Investment
✔ Climate change and human capital
✔ Climate Change, Disease and Gender Gaps in Human Capital Investment
✔ Human capital formation and foreign direct investment
✔ The Cost of HIV/AIDS and Disease on Human Capital Investment in Africa
Eligibility Criteria and Application Procedure for PhD Thesis Research Awards
Graduate students are eligible to apply for this award provided:
● They are African graduate students registered in a doctoral degree program in Economics at a recognized
university either within or outside Africa;
● They have completed all course requirements for the degree;
● They have successfully defended their proposals and they are in the writing phase of the dissertation;
Generally, human capital is defined as “the knowledge, skills, and health that people accumulate over their lives.”
● They have not received any other funding to support these dissertation activities outlined in the PhD
proposal/budget; and
Application Procedure
Requests should be supported by the following documentation:
● Evidence of registration in a recognized PhD programme in Economics.
● A copy of approved research proposal, complete with clearly defined objectives, substantial literature
review, a well‐outlined analytical framework as well as pertinent research methodology.
● A letter of reference from the thesis supervisor.
● A description of the plan of work for the thesis research including details of fieldwork and write up.
● A detailed budget.
● Evidence of any additional financial support that may be necessary to complete the programme.
● A curriculum vitae.
Application Deadline
The deadline for applying for the PhD thesis research grant is August 25, 2021. Applicants
should submit their application to
Director of Training
African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
3rd Floor, MEBANK Towers, Jakaya Kikwete Road
P.O. Box 62882-00200 Nairobi, Kenya
Tel (254-20) 2734163; 722205272; 733333298
Email: training@aercafrica.org
Please click here to download the full Call:
Call-for-Application-for-PhD-Thesis-Research-on-Human-Capital-Development-Grant-Support-2021-1.doc
