New IAAE Best Contributed Paper on Gender Award 

“This is exciting news to my family and me. I am short of words in appreciating the selection committee that selected my paper for this priceless award” says the first winner Professor Adebayo B Aromolaran of the IAAE AWARD for Best Contributed Paper on the Role of Gender in economic development being launched in perpetuity in Beijing on August 21, 2009 by Dr. Uma Lele. The recipient is getting a $1000 prize. The award is based on a trust fund Uma Lele has established with IAAE. Professor Adebayo B Aromolaran is at the Department of Agricultural Economics and Farm Management at the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria. The topic of his paper is: “Does Increase in Women’s Income Relative to Men’s Income Increase Food Calorie Intake in Poor Households?: Evidence from Nigeria”. 

The winner was selected in accordance with the criteria below. The Section Committee consisted of Dr. Laurien Unnevehr, Former President of the American Agricultural Economics Association and currently Division Director, Food Economics USDA-ERS-FED, Dr. Dina Umali, Sector Manager for Agriculture and Rural Development in the World Bank, Dr. Elisabeth Sadoulet, Professor at the Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics, University of California, Berkley, California, and Dr. Stephan von Cramon-Taubadel, Professor for Agricultural Policy, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Germany. Of the 44 papers received, 14 met the criteria for the award. The winner was selected after two rounds of reviews.

 Announcement and Criteria of the AWARD.   

The International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) is pleased to announce a new award for the Best Contributed Paper on Gender. This award, to be given at every forthcoming IAAE meeting, will include a $1000 grant to the author(s) of the winning paper from Dr.Uma Lele. It is being launched during the upcoming IAAE meetings to be held in Beijing on August 16-22, 2009. 

Contributed papers submitted to the 2009 IAAE meetings which cover the following topics are eligible to compete. Papers that: (i) promote a better understanding of the contribution of women to agriculture and rural development as well as the impact of various factors such as education, health, and infrastructure, and information on changing gender roles in rural areas; (ii) how rural women are affected by current or expected technical, economic and social changes; and (iii) evaluate the policy, institutional, and other development interventions that aim to improve the welfare of rural women. 

Submitted papers should adhere to the manuscript standards of the IAAE conference. Please refer to the IAAE 2009 website (http://www.iaae2009.org/paper.html) for more details. The deadline for submission for contributed papers for the Beijing IAAE conference is November 30, 2008.  For further information on the award, please contact Dina Umali-Deininger at dumali@worldbank. org.