Revised version 4 submitted on 19 jan 2012 -- approved for presentation at faculty seminar on 20th jan 2012
Comments have been added to MAMemonVer4.doc attached below. There are just two comment, and this is nearly presentation ready:
1. You have REPLICATED the derivation of Son and Kakwani. This should not be done. Just state the assumptions and the conclusions -- present ONLY those formulae which will be used in your own estimations -- proposals should NOT contain full derivations copied from other sources, although the thesis writeup can contain this.
2: If anybody else has applied Son & Kakwani methodology, it should be mentioned and cited. Also what we learn (or hope to learn) by using such a methodology should be mentioned, especially if it has policy relevance.
3: Are there any ALTERNATIVE methodologies for estimating price elasiticy of poverty? If so they should be mentioned and some explanation of why you chose this methodology instead of alternatives should be given. Pros and cons of alternatives should be presented.
Revised Version submitted 2 Dec 2011 is MUCH BETTER. Comments are given on the document itself. Some of the key points are llisted here:
Comments on revised version: 25th December 2011
A: Is Son & Kakwani (2006) PURELY theoretical? or do they have an application? Are you following them exactly? or have you made some modifications. You should cover this work in much greater detail so that it is clear the extent to which you are following their methodlogy
B: Has anybody ELSE used this methodology any where? If so, that is relevant, and you should discuss what has been done and what the findings have been.
C: Any other studies of impact of price changes on poverty USING DIFFERENT METHODOLOGY? Then these should also be discussed. You must explain why you chose Son & Kakwani methodology over others. What are the pros and cons of this methodology compared to others.
D: When you resubmit, please delete unnecessary material, but add anything relevant which falls under the topics of A,B,C above.
E: You must explain what you hope to find as a result (these are called the HYPOTHESES) and HOW it will be important to learn the answers – policy implications of the research, and how it sould be useful to eliminate poverty.
Original Submission: Comments listed below
Measuring the seasonal Impact of Price changes on Poverty
Introduction
Comments: This is 20 page proposal which covers a HUGE amount of IRRELEVANT material. A proposal should be brief, only about 10 pages or less. EVERY sentence in the paper should relate to the topic of the research.
How to write the INTRODUCTION has been spelled out in the Student Guide. The whole proposal should be focused around the SAME points:
If an article is in the literature review it must RELATE to the issue being researched. The proposal should be as short as possible while covering the essentials:
Literature is discussed to ESTABLISH the GAP -- this topic has not been researched before
Literature is discussed to ESTABLISH importance -- how this topic matters for policy or for some theoretical or practical purpose.
METHODOLOGY -- where it is taken from, how it started and how it evolved -- this needs to be discussed so that reader can understand WHAT methodology is being used.
DATA/EMPIRICAL aspect. Needs to be discussed to show empirical or real world relevance of proposal
Currently, the proposal is too long and does not highlight importance or significance of the research. Substance of research seems fine (off hand) but cannot be evaluated within the context of the proposal. The proposal needs to re-written to FOCUS ON WHAT RESEARCH the student plans to do, how it fits into and ADDS to existing research, and WHAT contribution it will make to theory and practice.