Kim Lehrer is a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia in the department of economics. Her research focuses on microeconomic aspects of development. She has conducted field work in Uganda and plans to continue to be involved in first hand data collection and project evaluation.

Her dissertation investigates men and women's labour force participation and children's education and health outcomes using original data collected in Ugandan Internally Displaced People's (IDP) camps in 2005 and 2007. The random nature of the conflict and mass displacement in the region is exploited to identify their impacts on behaviour. Furthermore, a randomized trial of two alternative food for education programs implemented by the World Food Programme in the IDP camps is evaluated. The impacts of the programs on school participation, cognitive development and learning achievement are investigated.

Her job market paper entitled "Gender Differences in Labour Market Participation During Conflict: Evidence from Displaced People's Camps in Northern Uganda" uses a unique data set and the exogenous nature of the conflict and resulting displacement in Northern Uganda to examine their impacts on labour market participation. She finds that the longer the existence of the camp to which people moved, the less men work. In contrast, women's labour market decisions are not influenced by the age of the Internally Displaced People's camp in which they live. She argues that these responses result from the development of gender-specific social norms regarding idleness and not from a lack of opportunities.

She expects to complete her degree by June 2009 and plans to continue to conduct policy relevant research in development economics, particularly focusing on applied microeconomics.