To demonstrate its commitment to promoting high quality development policy research by young Malaysian scholars, the World Bank will award a prize for the best development policy research paper by an early-career Malaysian national.
The inaugural recipient of this prize will be announced by the World Bank’s Chief Economist, Kaushik Basu, during the ceremonies on March 28, 2016 to publicly open the World Bank’s country office in Malaysia.
In addition to receiving an official award from the World Bank, the recipient will also be given the opportunity to spend some time as a Visiting Research Fellow with the Development Research Group team based in the World Bank Malaysia country office in Kuala Lumpur.
Eligibility criteria and submission procedures
Those considering submitting a paper for the prize should take account of the following:
- To be considered for the prize, an applicant must, as of March 31, 2016, be either a current graduate student or have received their PhD degree no earlier than March 31, 2013. Along with the paper they submit, applicants must append a copy or transcript of their PhD degree, which should clearly indicate the university from which, and date on which, their PhD was received. Current graduate students are also encouraged to apply, and should provide documentation from their university indicating their current status.
- The prize is open to all Malaysian nationals meeting the above criteria, no matter where they are currently residing. Along with the paper they submit, applicants must also append a document providing proof of their citizenship of Malaysia (e.g., a copy of their passport page). Every effort will be made to enable the recipient of the prize to attend the award ceremony on March 28, 2016 at the World Bank country office in Kuala Lumpur.
- Applicants for the prize should send what they regard as their best research paper on development policy. It may or may not have already been published, either as a working paper, a journal article, or a stand-alone chapter or paper of their PhD dissertation. The paper should be no more than 8000 words in length (inclusive of tables, figures, references, etc.), in English, and carefully proofread.
- Papers may be submitted from any discipline but those from economics and related social sciences are especially encouraged, since that is the type of work the World Bank’s Development Research Group itself most frequently conducts.
- If the winning paper has not yet been published, it may be eligible for inclusion in the World Bank’s Policy Research Working Paper Series. The awardee may also be invited to present their paper in the World Bank Malaysia Office’s Policy Research Seminar Series.
- The paper may be either of a theoretical or empirical nature, but – as the title of the prize indicates – the selection committee will look most favorably on those papers that speak in a clear and compelling way to a key development policy issue. The substantive focus of the paper need not necessarily be Malaysia itself, but the paper should endeavor to explore its significance for development policy in Malaysia.
- Co-authored papers are acceptable, but only if both/all authors meet the eligibility criteria as spelled out in 1 and 2 above. (So, for example, papers co-authored with one’s dissertation advisor, a senior colleague or a non-Malaysian national would not be acceptable.)
Deadline: The due date for the submission of papers to be considered for the prize is Monday, February 29, 2016. Papers and supporting documents (as outlined in 1 and 2 above) should be submitted to Maria Stella Ambrose (msambrose@worldbank.org).
Please direct any questions about this award to Norman Loayza (nloayza@worldbank.org) and/or Michael Woolcock (mwoolcock@worldbank.org).
