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Structural transformation, growth and development in low income countries

Date
Time (GMT +00) 17:00 18:30
Hero image description: Construction cranes at sunset. Islamic Republic of Iran Image credit:Curt Carnemark / World Bank Image license:Creative Commons

Speakers:

Nick Lea - Senior Economic Advisor to the Chief Economist, DFID

Professor Margaret McMillan - Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI and DEGRP grant holder

Professor Andries Du Toit - Director, Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), South Africa and DEGRP grant holder

Dr Francis Muamba Mulangu - Agricultural Economist, African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET), Ghana, and DEGRP grant holder

Chair:

Dr Dirk Willem te Velde Head of the International Economic Development Group, ODI and Research Leader, Evidence and Policy Group, DEGRP

Description

Structural transformation is a term that increasingly features in policy debates, ranging from African development forums to UN conferences and post-2015 discussions. But what does it mean exactly and how can low income countries (LICs) achieve this type of transformation? This DFID-ESRC Growth Research Programme (DEGRP) and ODI event will bring together a range of international academics to debate this issue and explore how it relates to economic growth, productivity & development.

 Specific questions for debate include:

  • What is structural transformation, which countries have experienced this, and how does it relate to growth, productivity & development?

  • How do low income countries transform structurally? What are the characteristics of successful cases, what is the role of policies and institutions in promoting structural transformation, what has been the use of sector policies such as agriculture or industrial policies?