PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A 2 YEAR TERM POSITION.

Activities and Responsibilities of the Development Economics Research Group (DECRG) of the World Bank

The Development Economics Vice Presidency (DEC) provides intellectual leadership, data, development prospects analysis, research findings, analytical tools and policy advice in support of Bank operations and advice to clients. Research activities are coordinated and implemented by its Development Research Group (DECRG). Within DECRG, the Infrastructure and Environment (IE) Team carries out research and provides operational support on the role of physical infrastructure and on issues relating to the sustainability of development processes. Current focus areas in the environment sector include climate change, land cover transformations induced by human activity such as deforestation and land degradation, and the linkages between environmental degradation and poverty. On the infrastructure side, current work programs focus on clean energy development, the role of transportation networks in economic development and options for improving public service access in urban areas. A unifying theme in all of these research programs is a strong emphasis on spatially explicit analysis, combining environmental, economic and social analysis with new techniques in the area of geographic information science and remotely sensed data collection.

Work Program on Clean Energy and Climate Change

International agreements to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions will increasingly involve developing countries. The international community - including developing countries - has agreed in principle (in the IPCC process) to stabilize concentrations of greenhouse gases at a level that would prevent dangerous impacts of climate change. It looks increasingly clear that, to reach this goal, emissions in developing countries will have to be controlled and reduced at some point in the fairly near future. The Bank and its client countries need to evaluate how much emissions can be reduced through ‘win-win’ strategies, what the trade-offs are beyond that, and how mitigation, sequestration, and adaptation can be financed and implemented.

In this context, DECRG’s policy research agenda will focus particularly on mitigation through emissions reduction in the energy sector. Related questions include: What are the costs and ways of changing the fuel mix in different sectors to reduce carbon emissions, or of increasing the efficiency of energy supply and transmission? How can demand and end-use be altered with price and non-price instruments and policies? How do energy prices affect behavior in different sectors? What are the appropriate incentives for energy-related R&D in developing countries? What are the links between greenhouse gas emissions and the local environmental externalities of fossil-fuel combustion? What are the implications of mitigation and sequestration policies for growth and other development goals? What are the appropriate international instruments and incentives to encourage sequestration and support adoption of cleaner growth pathways in developing countries? What are adaptation requirements to cope with delayed mitigation? Addressing these questions will form the core work program for the preferred candidate.

The preferred candidate will have five primary tasks: (1) Supervising and participating in a research program on clean energy development and climate change, while publishing in high-quality professional journals; (2). Providing high-level technical support and policy advice on clean energy and climate change to DEC’s management and sector specialists in Operations, the networks, other global institutions, and counterpart institutions in client countries; (3) Effectively representing the Bank in international forums on clean energy development and carbon emissions reduction, (4) Mentoring younger staff and supervising consultants, (5) Mobilizing resources for the research program through research grants, trust funds, and partnerships.

Anticipated elements of the candidate’s research agenda are as follows:

(1) Identification of appropriate incentives and technological options for carbon-efficient investments in key energy-using sectors. Topics for research include the potential impact of significant increases in energy prices in the short and long run and the sensitivity of growth to such changes; analysis of the instruments that developing countries could use to alter incentives and foster domestic clean technology development, as well as accelerated technology transfer; and analysis of the potential costs and benefits of alternative mitigation, sequestration, and adaptation strategies.

(2) The potential consequences of alternative carbon emission reduction schemes that may involve developing countries, including emissions trading, carbon taxes, project-based mechanisms, technology transfer and technical assistance.

(3) Cost-effective carbon sequestration options in developing countries, with a particular focus on the rapidly-growing carbon finance business.

(4) Institutional and regulatory requirements to complement the above (e.g., coordination and enforcement issues).

The preferred candidate will have the following professional attributes:

• A Ph. D. in economics (preferably environmental or public economics), with at least 8 years of relevant experience, extensive published research in high-quality professional journals, and international recognition among professional peers.



• Broad expertise in fields related to development, with a particular focus on the role of institutions in promoting effective policies.



• Specific expertise in one or more fields related to the work program described above.
• Good command of written and spoken English.



• Experience working with large and operationally-oriented organizations.



• Demonstrated achievement in senior positions that require first-rate analytical and writing skills; advisory work with senior national and international policymakers; resource mobilization for large research teams; management of senior researchers; and effective presentations to audiences in a variety of cultural and institutional settings.

The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background. Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. Qualified candidates should apply on-line at www.worldbank.org/jobs and choose vacancy number 060932. Please note that you will need to register before submitting your application. The closing date is October 17, 2006.