Location : Praia, CAPE VERDE
Application Deadline : 10-Dec-13
Type of Contract : Individual Contract
Post Level : International Consultant
Languages Required : English Portuguese
Starting Date : (date when the selected candidate is expected to start) 23-Dec-2013
Duration of Initial Contract : 50 business days
Expected Duration of Assignment : 50 business days during a period of 6 Months
Background
Application Procedure:
Proposal should be submitted to the email address: procurement.cv@cv.jo.un.org no later than 10 December 2013 and should include the following:
- A cover letter (in English or Portuguese) explaining the candidate (or lead author) interests and skills;
- A copy of the resume and UN P11 form;
- A proposed outline of the study (in English or Portuguese) of a maximum of 3 pages, which should include a calendar of activities and a budget proposal;
- Sample of previous analytical work (in English, Portuguese, or French).
- Offeror's Letter to UNDP confirming interes and availability for the individual contractor
Please write 'Application for Consultancy: Measuring Social Mobility and Drivers of Social Inequality in Cape Verde ' in the subject line of the email.
Proposals must include all five set of requested documents above. Proposals not meeting this requirement will not be considered.
- All Documents are available in the UN Cape Verde website, www.un.cv , under the section Anuncios, the UNGM website at www.ungm.org, and UNDP Procurement website at http://procurement-notices.undp.org.
N.B. Applications through UNDP jobs will not be accepted, only to the procurement.cv@cv.jo.un.org email address.
Background
Throughout the last decades, Cape Verde has gone through a process of economic and social transition that culminated in its graduation from the status of LDC in 2008. Cape Verde´s economy grew on average at around six percent in real terms in the last decade ending in 2010 despite the sharp decline in domestic growth in 2008 and especially in 2009 as a result of the global economic and financial crisis of 2007 and 2008. Estimates based on recent IMF data also points to the remarkable improvement in growth volatility in the last decade; indeed, the 10-year period starting in 2000 saw a decline in growth volatility of around sixty percent of the levels observed in the 1990s. The latest government programme (2011) also emphasizes important gains toward poverty reduction in the last decade that resulted from the combination of a strong and less volatile economic growth and targeted policy interventions. Poverty rate in Cape Verde reached close to 27 percent in 2007 compared to 37 percent in 2001, which indicates that growth has helped lifting, at least, some groups of people out of poverty.
Despite the overall positive developments in Cape Verde in the last decade, there are a series of challenges that remain and that could risk the country´s ability to continue to expand at a sustainable pace and to further advance in reducing the number of people living in poverty. Among the main social challenges are the ability of the economy to generate new and decent jobs and the disparities in terms of social and economic conditions between specific groups, sectors, and geographic regions.
The third Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (GPRSP III) adopted in 2012 notes that income inequality in Cape Verde remains persistently high, with a Gini coefficient in 2007 of around 0.47 (on a scale of 0 to 1, where 1 is perfect inequality and 0 is perfect inequality). The high level of inequality is a concern because it affects how effective growth is in reducing poverty.
One of the possibilities of why inequality remains high in Cape Verde, despite of a growing economy, is the ability of the economy to allow for upward mobility through job creation and social transfers.
Indeed, a closer look at the economic dynamics in Cape Verde shows that growth has relied on sectors, mostly connected to tourism, that have failed to generate jobs at a similar pace, and that there are risks that improvements in overall living conditions could backslide. The sectors of hotels and restaurants, for instance, grew almost six times faster than the national economy between 2000 and 2010, accounting almost 16% of GDP in 2010. Yet it supplied only 4.6% of all jobs in 2010, compared to 2.5% in 2000.
Reduction in poverty rates has also been imbalanced. An analysis based on the 2010 Demographic Census indicates that poverty rates on islands with the best tourism infrastructure, Sal and Boa Vista, are less than half of the national average. Meanwhile, poverty incidence in largely rural islands with limited tourism infrastructure such as Fogo and Santa Antão are well above the national average. Similarly, whereas poverty in urban areas dropped from 25% to 13.2 % between 2002 and 2007, poverty in rural areas improved only from 51.1% to 44.3%.
The Post-2015 national consultation process that was conducted recently also seems to suggest an overall perception that disparities exist in terms of access to basic services and job opportunities. The concept of 'fairness' was frequently mentioned by respondents that perceive the problematic of inequality of opportunity weighing in their inequality of condition.
Social inequality is one of the major priorities of the government in Cape Verde as it seeks to promote a more balanced and inclusive economic growth. The proposed research aims at studying the main drivers of social inequality and social mobility in recent years in Cape Verde.
The current research proposal is part of an overall UNDP effort to support Cape Verde in its efforts to promote a more sustainable and inclusive growth. In May 2013, Cape Verde, with the support of UNDP, hosted an international seminar on inclusive growth and social protection that promoted a series of dialogues and exchanges on mechanisms to integrate social and economic policies to break poverty traps and assure a more long-term and sustainable inclusive model of growth. Tackling growth imbalances, social inequality, and promoting social mobility came up as important priorities as Cape Verde attempts to address its structural challenges and adapts its development model to its non-Least Developed Country (LDC) country circumstances.
Understanding, therefore, the main drivers of social inequality and social mobility will help Cape Verde to more effectively advance with policies aiming at promoting a strong and more inclusive development model.
Beyond Cape Verde´s context, this study would contribute to the understanding of the dynamics and drivers of inequality and social mobility in African countries. This is particularly important, considering the increased importance of tackling inequality and promoting social mobility in the context of promoting inclusive and pro-poor growth. A case study on Cape Verde would, thus, not only inform national policy making but would also contribute to the still sparse applied literature in Africa on the subject. The case study, which would include a methodological note and a survey design, could also serve as a model for other countries in the region that face similar challenges with respect to inequality trends and limited data availability. Additional Information can be found in the ToR.
Duties and Responsibilities
Objectives
In terms of empirical results, the study expects to identify key drivers of social inequality and mobility in Cape Verde. It is also expected that by better understanding drivers of inequality and mobility, the study will be able to identify weaknesses and shortfalls in the existing social policy framework. The results will be presented in a final report and will be the base for a policy dialogue organized in conjunction with the office of the Prime Minister.
Methodology The study will comprise an analysis of national data to identify trends, levels, and patterns of social mobility between generations, social groups, regions, and migratory destinies. The analysis of national data will also seek to classify inequality trends and identify types of inequality - i.e. inequality of opportunity and inequality of condition, income and wealth inequality - and how these affect a broad range of life quality indicators. Finally the study will seek to identify the major drivers of inequality and mobility. In particular, the study will analyze how trends of inequality and mobility relate to the labor market evolution and to social policies in Cape Verde.
Considered that data is limited, it is expected that some small scale qualitative surveys will be conducted to complement existing information on the major drivers of inequality, social mobility, and chronic poverty for specific groups in Cape Verde. It is highly recommended that the consultant or team of consultants engage and work with local consultants and universities. Additional Information can be found in the ToR.
Competencies
Functional Competencies:
- Excellent capacity for economic analysis and data organization;
- Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication skills including the ability to give clear and concise presentations of complex material to a non-academic audience;
- Ability to plan work assignments, establish priorities and meet strict assignment deadlines with limited resources;
- Ability to build strong relationships with clients and focus on impact and results.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- A Master or, preferably, a PhD in economics or a related discipline, and experience with research design and analysis.
Experience:
- Minimum of 5 years of research experience in economics or related discipline;
- Experience with social inequality as described in the terms of reference is desired;
- Proven previous experience in quantitative and qualitative analysis.
Language:
- The candidate must have excellent working knowledge of Portuguese;and fluency in English
UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.
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