economic research proposal example

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• Prof. Esther Duflo
• Prof. Benjamin Olken

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• Developmental Economics
• Microeconomics

Learning Resource Types

Development economics, research proposal.

The maximum length of the write-up should be 3 pages single-spaced (but less is fine). The goal of this research proposal is to give you a “jump start” on working on a topic that you could (ideally) work on for your second-year paper (or a future paper for your dissertation). If you are in the second year, it is okay for you to talk about the topic that you will be working on for your second-year paper. It should be development though… (but as you know development is a big tent). 

You can co-author the proposal with any student(s) in the program. However, we would like to  see as many proposals as people in the class. 

Note that the deadline is the last possible date that we are allowed to accept assignments under end  of term regulations, so we will not be able to provide extensions. Please therefore budget your time wisely. 

The proposal should include 

•  A clear statement of your research question       
• Brief motivation of your research question       a. Why is this question important?        b. What is the policy implication?        c. What (if any) economic theory it is testing? 
• (Short) Review of the relevant theoretical and/or empirical literature. 
• Description of your proposed empirical strategy and proposed (realistic) data sources.        a. You can propose an RCT where you’d collect the data, as long as it is realistic for a PhD student (not necessarily in the scope of a second year paper).        b. If you project is empirical, write-out clearly and in detail what are the proposed        regression specifications.  
• Clear discussion of your contribution to the prior literature.       
• Clear discussion of what challenges you expect to encounter. 

Think of this project as the shell of a research paper that contains everything but your findings: you will motivate the question; place it in the literature; and lay out your data sources (if any) and your research design. We do not expect to see any preliminary results (for empirical papers) or fully fledged model (for theory paper).

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Smart tips for a tip-top economics research proposal.

Economics is a subject that most students shy away from attributing a wide array of factors. Some would argue that the statistics and calculations behind it are tedious and boring, unlike other disciplines. That is why a business student would prefer looking for a sample research proposal in economics on the internet to get his/her assignment done.

However, you’d be surprised to know that you do not need a research proposal in economics example to complete your homework. What do you need then? Scroll down to unveil the secret you’ve been missing all this while.

What Is A Research Proposal Economics?

It is a gateway to the real research paper that performs the following functions:

• Summing up the nature of the proposed economic research
• Describing its context and details
• Showing the existing knowledge of economics

Unlike other papers written in college, this one is relatively short and won’t take up much of your writing time. A sample research proposal in economics gives you a chance to analyze the subject matter and its intended research before committing to work on it.

Economics Research Proposal Outline

Knowing how to write such a paper does not need a brilliant mind. All you need is to understand its structure, including all the sections and what each of them entails. So, before you settle down to start writing your economics research proposal, pause to think about the following:

What is your research going to be about? What is the relevance of the topic to you and society at large? How are you going to perform the research?

Once these three are in order, the next stage is to carry on with the writing. To excel in this second stage, you need to know the structure of this kind of paper. Despite the variations among different institutions on the economics research proposal structure, here is a standard guide:

• Introduction:

It is the first chapter after the title page that contains the section below:

• Background information to the problem.
• Statement of the problem
• Objectives of the study
• The research questions
• Significance and scope of the study
• Limitations of the study

The introduction is also referred to as the ‘why’ part of the proposal. It should also develop interest on the part of the reader through its currency and relevance.

• Literature Review

Review the existing literature on the economics topic you are handling while showing the link between the two. It would help if you did this chronologically – from the earliest to the latest material. The literature review also involves identifying the gaps left by other researchers.

• Methodology Section

This chapter indicates the type of research design you intend to use in your study. It would be best to analyze your research problem economics’ theoretical tools such as production and cost, demand and supply, and customer behavior, among others.

Depending on the type of research data method you choose to use (primary or secondary), this section may vary in length and structure.

It provides a summary of the deliberations above. The conclusion refers back to the original question and restating your proposed solution.

Your proposal might be rejected if: It presents an irrelevant or outdated topic The stated objectives don’t coincide with the methods You are not well knowledgeable in the field of study you have chosen

Look at the following sample writing ideas for an economics research proposal:

Health Economics Research Proposal Writing Prompts

• What are the rationale and economic justification of health insurance?
• Economic consequences of COVID-19 on the health sector
• How technological innovations in health have helped save costs
• The economic impact of cancer care and treatment
• An economic analysis of the healthcare policies in the US

Agricultural Economics Research Proposal Ideas

• An economic perspective of prioritizing agricultural activities
• Agricultural impacts and economic costs of lockdowns
• A review of the agricultural policy decision-makers on the economy
• An inquiry into the current challenges in agricultural economic modeling of GMOs
• Views on research priorities in agriculture economics and funding for innovations

Business Major Research Proposal Economics Topics

• The role of banks in maintain an economic equilibrium
• Accounting for customer competencies in emerging business enterprises
• Why corporate social responsibility is a crucial feature of any business that wants to succeed
• How to develop competitive intelligence in a recession period
• Exploring the influence of social media on the thriving of businesses
• How agricultural economies compare concerning operationalization and practice of engagement across different contexts

Research Proposal Behavioral Economics Ideas

• A behavioral economics perspective on what motivates consumers to buy
• How behavioral economics helps to reduce substance abuse
• How the behavioral economics theory fits into the modern world business
• The implications of big data on behavioral economics
• Ways in which discounting helps to shape behavioral economics
• Online purchase behavior economics in the 21st century
• Discuss the implications of pricing and the decoy effect

By now, you should be confident when your instructor presents with you an economics research paper. These guidelines should give you the mileage you need to write a research paper proposal example for your peers.

For professional writing assistance, our economics writers are on standby to help you. Contact us today!

School of Economics

Writing a research proposal.

Developing a research proposal is a necessary part of the application process it:

• provides a basis for decision-making;
• helps to make sure that you get the most appropriate supervisor for your research.

Your research proposal does not commit you to researching in a specific area if your application is successful. 

Following a successful application, you need to provide a more comprehensive proposal which will be useful reference as your research develops.

How to write a research proposal

Organise your proposal should around a small set of ideas or hypotheses that you would like to investigate. Provide some evidence of relevant background reading if possible.

A typical research proposal might look something like this:

• Rationale for the research project, including: a description of the phenomenon of interest, and the context(s) and situation in which you think the research will take place; an explanation of why the topic is of interest to the author; and an outline of the reasons why the topic should be of interest to research and/ or practice (the 'so what?' question); a statement of how the research fits in with that of potential supervisor(s) in the School of Economics.
• Issues and initial research question. Within the phenomenon of interest: what issue(s) do you intend to investigate? (This may be quite imprecise at the application stage); what might be some of the key literatures that might inform the issues (again, indicative at the application stage); and, as precisely as you can, what is the question you are trying to answer?
• Intended methodology: How do you think you might go about answering the question? Do you have a preference for using quantitative methods such as survey based research, or for qualitative methods such as interviews and observation?
• Expected outcomes: how do you think the research might add to existing knowledge; what might it enable organisations or interested parties to do differently?
• Timetable: What is your initial estimation of the timetable of the dissertation? When will each of the key stages start and finish (refining proposal; literature review; developing research methods; fieldwork; analysis; writing the draft; final submission). There are likely to overlaps between the stages.

An initial research proposal that forms part of a PhD application should be between 600 and 1,000 words in length.

School of Social Sciences

Writing your economics research proposal

If you are applying to the Economics postgraduate research programme, you will need to submit a research proposal with your application.

The nature of your proposal will depend on when you apply.

The role of the proposal

For entry into Year 1 of the programme, the proposal is used to:

• identify your broad areas of interest;
• see if you have consulted relevant literature beyond the standard textbooks;
• obtain an impression of your ability to think critically;
• assess what motivates you to pursue a research degree in economics.

Proposal guidelines

For entry into Year 1 of the programme, the research proposal is expected to include the following:

• The  research area  with which you would expect to be affiliated;
• The member(s) of staff you would like to provide supervision (this information is also requested in the online application form under ‘Proposed research supervisor’); You are strongly encouraged to contact a preferred supervisor in advance of submitting an application to get their input into developing your research proposal.
• A description of the area in which you expect your eventual research to be. This should describe possible research questions you might address, and describe why you find them interesting and relevant. In so doing, you should relate the possible research questions to the extant literature in this area of economics;
• You should identify and address any potential ethical considerations in relation to your proposed research. Please discuss your research with your proposed supervisor to see how best to progress your ideas in line with University of Manchester ethics guidance, and ensure that your proposed supervisor is happy for you to proceed with your application;
• A bibliography of any journal articles and books to which you have referred;
• No more than 1500 words.

If you are seeking entry into Year 2 you are expected to have more developed research ideas. Your proposal will be used to assess:

• the quality and originality of your ideas;
• whether you are able to think critically;
• if you have a grasp of the relevant literature.

It will also give us:

• important information about the perspectives you intend to take in your research area;
• how you fit into the Economic department’s research profile;
• an idea how to allocate a supervisory team.

For entry into Year 2 of the programme, the research proposal is expected to include the following:

• The member(s) of staff you would like to provide supervision (this information is also requested in the online application form under ‘Proposed research supervisor’); You are strongly encouraged to contact a preferred supervisor prior to submitting your application to get their input into your research proposal.
• A detailed description of the area in which you expect your eventual research to be. This should describe the specific research questions you plan to address, the research methods you expect to use, and the expected data source for any empirical work planned.

The proposal should also:

• Describe why you find these research questions interesting and relevant, and relate the specific research questions to the extant literature in this area of economics;
• You should identify and address any potential ethical considerations in relation to your proposed research. Please discuss your research with your proposed supervisor to see how best to progress your ideas in line with University of Manchester ethics guidance, and ensure that your proposed supervisor is happy for you to proceed with your application.
• Around 1500 words. In exceptional cases proposals significantly exceeding the word limit will be accepted.

The University uses electronic systems to detect plagiarism and other forms of academic malpractice and for assessment. All Humanities PhD programmes require the submission of a research proposal as part of the application process. The Doctoral Academy upholds the principle that where a candidate approaches the University with a project of study, this should be original. While it is understandable that research may arise out of previous studies, it is vital that your research proposal is not the subject of plagiarism.

Allocation of supervisors

For Year 1 entrants, the proposal is used to allocate a preliminary supervisor to act as mentor during the first year of study. This person will normally also act as a supervisor and may also become your MSc-dissertation supervisor. The exact composition of your supervisory team will be decided by the end of Year 1.

You will not be forced to follow the proposal exactly once you have started to study. It is normal for students to refine their original proposal over time.

With this in mind, the composition of your supervisory team may also change. Please note that members of staff are only expected to provide supervision in areas that are of interest to them and admittance to the programme does not imply the provision of supervision on any topic devised by the student.

Further information

• How to write a personal statement
• Economics research area groups
• Find an economics supervisor

If you need help and advice about your application, contact the Postgraduate Admissions Team.

Admissions contacts

University guidelines

You may also find it useful to read the advice and guidance on the University website about writing a proposal for your research degree application.

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Examples of research proposals

How to write your research proposal, with examples of good proposals.

Research proposals

Your research proposal is a key part of your application. It tells us about the question you want to answer through your research. It is a chance for you to show your knowledge of the subject area and tell us about the methods you want to use.

We use your research proposal to match you with a supervisor or team of supervisors.

In your proposal, please tell us if you have an interest in the work of a specific academic at York St John. You can get in touch with this academic to discuss your proposal. You can also speak to one of our Research Leads. There is a list of our Research Leads on the Apply page.

When you write your proposal you need to:

• Highlight how it is original or significant
• Explain how it will develop or challenge current knowledge of your subject
• Identify the importance of your research
• Show why you are the right person to do this research
• Research Proposal Example 1 (DOC, 49kB)
• Research Proposal Example 2 (DOC, 0.9MB)
• Research Proposal Example 3 (DOC, 55.5kB)
• Research Proposal Example 4 (DOC, 49.5kB)

Subject specific guidance

• Writing a Humanities PhD Proposal (PDF, 0.1MB)
• Writing a Creative Writing PhD Proposal (PDF, 0.1MB)
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Empirical Economics Research Proposal

Most of the traditional undergraduate curriculum engages students as consumers of empirical research. But in the senior year, many programs invite students to become producers of novel work. Many students find this transition difficult because the skill set required to be a critical reader are insufficient for being an effective researcher. In particular, as researchers students must learn how to generate interesting questions with clear connections to theory; where to find relevant data to answer the posed question; how to shrewdly revise the research question in light of data availability; and how to situate the original work within an existing literature. This assignment gives sophomores and juniors a chance to practice these skills in the context of a 5-page research proposal.

Expand for more detail

Activity Classification and Connections to Related Resources Collapse

Grade level, learning goals.

• generate an interesting research question with a clear connection to economic theory
• find and evaluate sources of data relevant to the proposed question
• place an original research idea in the context of an existing literature

Context for Use

Description and teaching materials.

• Literature by Major and
• Statistics and data .

Teaching Notes and Tips

• Students have a hard time generating questions that have connections to theory. For instance, they may propose "price discrimination" as their research "question." They need help coming up with an hypothesis that could be accepted or rejected. Ultimately, I sometimes give students a question related to the area of their interest. The degree of hand-holding can be reflecting in grading under "creativity of the proposed question."
• Based on past paper-writing experience, students often think they can whip together a 5-page paper in a day or two. By requiring that they hand in draft work early on in the term, you can avoid the inevitable mess that results when students realize that it takes a good bit of time to generate a research topic and identify relevant data sources.
• The genre of a research proposal is novel to most students. It takes many iterations to convince them that I really don't want them to actually do any analysis—just clearly plan and lay out the work.
• Students tend to think of the primary literature as a canon rather than as a discussion between colleagues. A few minutes discussing this when the assignment is given out can help situate students' thinking.
• Note that the assignment limits the extent of the literature review to 5 primary literature papers. This is important to making the assignment feasible. While the literature is invariably much larger and no senior should start their thesis without a comprehensive understanding of what has come before, 5 papers is sufficient to give students a feel for how to place their work in the context of prior understanding.
• How well does the student motivate the topic? (I encourage them to use a few well-chosen numbers to place the proposed topic in context or to frame the importance of the question. This use of quantitative reasoning may not always be relevant, however.)
• How well does the student situate the proposal in the context of existing work?
• Does the proposed question connect clearly from theory? Is it really true that theory speaks to the proposed analysis?
• How insightful/creative is the proposed question?
• Will the identified data allow the student to answer the proposed question? Is the sample size reasonably large? Is the dataset truly accessible?
• Is the paper well organized? Does it include clear transition sentences? Did I ever get "lost"?
• Is the paper clear of surface error?
• Intangibles: Is the paper well-written and easy to read?

References and Resources

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Research proposals

Writing a research proposal requires students to demonstrate a high level of knowledge and analytical thought. Students must choose a specific aspect of the course material to investigate, and ask an original question, which can increase their engagement and interest. This assesses students' understanding of the subject area, their capacity to perform a literature review, their evaluation of possible research tools, and their development of a research question. In addition, the course can require the student to carry out the project they propose, as another assessment task. Assessing the proposal as a separate task earlier in the year ensures the students are on a productive path, helps the students to plan their time, and can also deter academic misconduct by demonstrating authorship. Research-related assessments can support the students' later work on a dissertation.  This can be in terms of skills alone or both skills and content the research proposal informs the final-year dissertation.

Advantages of research proposals

Learning through research can lead to more engaged, critical and informed students than teaching by more didactic methods.

Learning about research methods can help students understand other courses more fully, and the 'nuts and bolts' of their discipline.

Becoming 'expert' in an area can increase students sense of autonomy in their learning, and can develop their confidence in articulating original arguments.

Developing a wider variety of types of writing and communication is useful for students' longer-term employability skills.

As a research proposal can be relatively short, it can be combined with peer feedback or presented in a different format such as a poster or an oral presentation.

Can be a good opportunity to introduce group work

Challenges of research proposals

Students more used to exams and essays may find a new format initially confusing.

Students may feel unsure of how to excel in this assessment method.

When students choose their own specific area to investigate, it carries the risk that the area will not be as productive as one pre-determined by their tutor as existing research literature on a topic may be sparse, for example.

How students might experience research proposals

Students may value the autonomy of creating a research proposal, and appreciate the insight it offers into their other courses, but experience anxiety at the novel assessment format. When students have undertaken specific, personal work, they can appreciate the opportunity of sharing their work with peers. LSE students in this situation report a sense of pride in their own and their cohort's work.

Reliability, validity, fairness and inclusivity of research proposals

As with any assessment, the learning outcomes of the course need to be well served by the method - setting clear criteria and communicating them with students. The weighting of the task also requires consideration. An essay may be a more substantial writing task, but a research proposal requires additional time to find relevant readings, and understand and evaluate research tools. If peers are expected to comment on one another's work, guidance on this should also be provided. As the projects will be varied, students may make more use of office hours or other one-to-one guidance from tutors. Students from educational backgrounds which do not prioritise 'original argument' may particularly struggle to understand what is required of them by an open-ended and personalised project. Putting students in contact with their relevant library liaison is another form of support for when they are locating material.

How to maintain and ensure rigour in research proposals

Research proposals should be marked and moderated in accordance with departmental practice. Criteria should be established in advance and shared with students. Research proposals can provide a chance to excel in one area and underperform in others (e.g. a strong original argument combined with weak use of sources) therefore a clear marking system should help keep students (and staff) working (and marking) in line with the expected outcomes. Individual markers should take steps to avoid the problems which affect batch marking, such as the 'halo' effect where one or two positive characteristics of a student overly influence the marker.

How to limit possible misconduct in research proposals

Possible misconduct is comparable to other written assessment methods. The requirement for students to select their own sub-topic to work on means that assistance from previous cohorts will be of less use. As it is a novel form of assessment, students will also be less able to find existing examples online. Requiring students to submit early stages of the project – for example, an area of interest, an early research question - will require students to demonstrate authorship (and also allow tutors to intervene in projects which appear off-topic). Final submissions can make use of Turnitin to check against other student submissions, and against other possible sources (for example, article abstracts).

LSE examples

SO221 Researching London: Methods for Social Research

AN298 Research Methods in Social Anthropology

MY428 Qualitative Text and Discourse Analysis

Further resources

Healey, M. and Jenkins, A. (2009) Developing undergraduate research and inquiry

https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/developing-undergraduate-research-and-inquiry

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Economic Development Research Proposals Samples For Students

16 samples of this type

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Research Proposal On Designing A Socioeconomic Development Program For Voltania

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