The CBK Award to Young Economists

The Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo (CBK), with the aim of promoting research, within the framework of financial education, invites all researchers to participate in the CBK Award to Young Economists.
In this regard, the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo announces the following:

COMPETITION FOR RESEARCH PAPERS
on the following topics:

The impact of technology and digitalization on the transformation of the economy, with an emphasis on the impact of the payment system in Kosovo.

• Digital currencies and financial inclusion: Exploring the potential impact of digital currencies on the economy and financial inclusion in Kosovo.

• The impact of climate change risks on the economy of Kosovo, in particular on the stability of the financial sector.

• Towards a cashless economy: the challenges and opportunities of reducing cash in circulation, the empowerment of electronic payments and the expected fiscal effects in Kosovo.

Criteria for the content of the paper

• The paper must be in the field of the financial sector and economic development in the Republic of Kosovo;
• The paper must meet the criteria of a scientific work and can be in the similar form of a: diploma thesis (Bachelor), post-graduate diploma thesis (Master) or PhD thesis (Dr);
• The paper must be written in Albanian or in English language;
• The paper should not be longer than 25 pages; fonts should be Times New Roman; size 12, double-spaced and conform to the standard rules of bibliographic citation using the APA Publications Manual (7th Edition); the executive summary should not be longer than one page and the list of all references should be attached to the paper.

The criteria for the selection of the paper by the Evaluation Commission at CBK

• The Evaluation Commission, composed of CBK staff, will select the best paper, but may also suggest that one or more of the competing young economists be given the CBK award, using general criteria such as:
– Interest of the topic in the Kosovar – international economy
– Quality of scientific research or synthesis
– Quality of writing
– Research/writings of the authors involved in the paper should be well identified with footnotes and references
– Relevance and scientific contribution to promoting or changing policies.
• Notwithstanding the previous point, the final decision on the number of awards depends on the quality of the papers submitted and will be taken at the end by the Evaluation Commission, therefore, it does not mean that the number of awards should be one or more than one;
• Winners of previous awards, current and former employees (in the last three years) of the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo cannot apply to this competition.
• Papers that do not coincide with the rules of ethics or that are prepared through artificial intelligence platforms will be rejected and processed according to the legal practices in force, notifying the relevant universities of this regard.
• A candidate can apply only once and for one topic.

Criteria for application

The candidate can be an individual author or main author and have a co-author of the paper;
The candidate must be a citizen of the Republic of Kosovo or a student from other countries, who are studying at accredited universities in the Republic of Kosovo;
The papers of candidates who bring other topics that are not relevant to the topic published in this competition will not be considered;
The candidate must be a Bachelor, Master or PhD student.

Application procedures

Interested students can apply as follows:
– By submitting their papers in the electronic version (PDF), to info@bqk-kos.org, accompanied by three hard copies sent to the following address: Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo (CBK), Attn. The CBK Award to Young Economists, Garibaldi 33, 10000 Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo.
Name of the mentor and the relevant university/faculty, which applies in the case when students collaborate with their lecturers while working on their papers.

Copy of ID and contact details such as: e-mail address, telephone number and residential postal address.
Evidence proving the degree of Bachelor, Master or PhD studies in Kosovo.
After analysing the papers received, only the candidates whose papers will be selected by the Evaluation Committee will be notified.

Awards

• The winners will be awarded with acknowledgment letter by the CBK for their contribution.
• The first winner will be awarded EUR 1,200, the second winner EUR 800 and the third winner EUR 500.
• The deadline for submitting the papers is 1 December, 2023, at 16:30.