STEG Transforming Growth Series: Recent Episodes
Structural Transformation and Economic Growth (STEG), Led by CEPR
STEG is a five-year academic research programme which will provide a deeper understanding of the fundamental economic processes of structural change and productivity growth in low- and middle-income countries.
Recorded at the 2025 annual conference of the Structural Transformation and Economic Growth Programme, held at the University of Oxford.
We have a mental model of structural transformation, and we have decades of empirical data to test our ideas about how that process works. But does it happen in the same way everywhere? This question has been hard to answer, not least because in some parts of the Global South, data has been easier to locate that in others. New research uses macro and trade data on from Sub-Saharan Africa to analyse whether its development follows those familiar patterns. Tim Phillips spoke to two of the authors: Gaaitzen de Vries of the University of Groningen and Kei-Mu Yi of the University of Houston, and the Dallas Fed.
Recorded at the 2025 annual conference of the Structural Transformation and Economic Growth Programme, held at the University of Oxford.
In China, the Hukou system has traditionally controlled migration from rural areas to cities. But if structural transformation is powered by exactly that type of migration, how did the Hukou system affect the life chances of Chinese people? Ting Chen of Hong Kong Baptist University is one of the authors of a new paper that examines how policy influenced patterns of migration for women and men. She discusses the Hukou system, the reforms to it, and how that changed the life chances of millions of women, with Tim Phillips.
Recorded at the 2025 annual conference of the Structural Transformation and Economic Growth Programme, held at the University of Oxford.
If you have ever tried the private minibus routes that millions of people in low-income countries rely on to get to work, to shops, or to school, they can seem chaotic. But would it require large or small policy tweaks to make them work efficiently, and what would those tweaks be? Based on his work in Cape Town, Lucas Conwell of UCL talks to Tim Phillips about how the private minibus networks, such a distinctive feature of urban transit, can improve their service when there is little room for public investment or regulation.
Recorded at the 2025 annual conference of the Structural Transformation and Economic Growth Programme, held at the University of Oxford.
For many economies in the Global South, fossil fuel extraction has been both a blessing and a curse. Nowhere more so than Nigeria, where oil production generates huge revenues, but also creates an environmental and social burden for the people who live in oil producing regions. Arinze Nwokolo of Lagos Business School has investigated one aspect of this burden: how gas flaring that occurs as part of the oil production process affects local agriculture. He talks to Tim Phillips about the dramatic impact it has on agricultural productivity, and how the policy alternatives can change those outcomes.
Recorded at the 2025 annual conference of the Structural Transformation and Economic Growth Programme, held at the University of Oxford.
We know that inequality has an impact on development – but there are many types of inequality, and equally many ways to measure it. One of its most important dimensions, especially at the early stages of the transformation of an economy, is land inequality. Harrison Mitchell of the University of California San Diego talks to Tim Phillips about the empirical relationship between rural landholding inequality in one large state in India, agricultural productivity, and the emergence of other ways to earn money.
Recorded at the 2025 annual conference of the Structural Transformation and Economic Growth Programme, held at the University of Oxford.
For years, economists hardly dared speak in public about industrial policy, for fear of being laughed out of the room. Now, thanks partly to deglobalisation and trade wars, it’s back on the agenda.
Beata Javorcik of the University of Oxford is the chief economist at the EBRD. She speaks to Tim Phillips about What the return of industrial policy implies for the process of development and, if more countries are going to embrace industrial policy, how they can avoid the mistakes of the past.
Recorded at the 2025 annual conference of the Structural Transformation and Economic Growth Programme, held at the University of Oxford.
What do economists mean when they talk about “slack” in an economy, and why is it an important concept for development? Felix Samy Soliman of the University of Zurich and his co-authors have analysed firms in Kenya to find out whether they underuse their labour and capital, and why. He tell Tim Phillips that there’s huge potential for economic growth if we better understand slack in the economies of low-income countries.
Recorded at the 2025 annual conference of the Structural Transformation and Economic Growth Programme, held at the University of Oxford.
Why do people migrate to cities? Alternatively, if you have read the research on the large financial benefits of migration, you might wonder: if those estimates are correct, why doesn’t everyone migrate to a city? New research by Marieke Kleemans of the University of Illinois and her co-authors attempts to untangle this complex question. She tells Tim Phillips how their detective work shines a new light on the unequal benefits of migration for the people who do make the journey, and even suggests how much those who stay behind would benefit from moving to a city as well.
Recorded at the 2025 annual conference of the Structural Transformation and Economic Growth Programme, held at the University of Oxford.
When we think about digital technologies in business, we tend to think about payments and transactions. Throughout his career, Robert Townsend of MIT has studied the impact of financial systems, insurance and credit in development, especially in rural Thailand. He talks to Tim Phillips about how tech like blockchain can replicate and even improve on the social structures that sustain commerce in these settings.
In the 2024 season of the Conversations on Transformation series, recorded at the STEG Annual Conference in Abu-Dhabi NYU, Tim Phillips talks to some of the speakers about the challenges and opportunities of structural transformation, growth, and economic development.
In the last episode of this year’s series, Tim talks to Melanie Gräser about her research on how Liberia’s growth depends on mining and how different types of mining contracts—industrial versus artisanal—can have different outcomes for local communities.
In the 2024 season of the Conversations on Transformation series, recorded at the STEG Annual Conference in Abu-Dhabi NYU, Tim Phillips talks to some of the speakers about the challenges and opportunities of structural transformation, growth, and economic development.
The health benefits for children and adults of the recent malaria vaccination efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa are very clear. In the sixth episode, Tim talks to Minki Kim about the economic impact that this new vaccine will have on Africa’s future.
In the 2024 season of the Conversations on Transformation series, recorded at the STEG Annual Conference in Abu-Dhabi NYU, Tim Phillips talks to some of the speakers about the challenges and opportunities of structural transformation, growth, and economic development.
Creative destruction is the process by which failing businesses are replaced by new, more entrepreneurial firms. In the fifth episode, Tim talks to Shoumitro Chatterjee about the effect on business and on the economy at large if those firms find it hard to go out of business.
n the 2024 season of the Conversations on Transformation series recorded at the STEG Annual Conference at NYU Abu Dhabi, Tim Phillips talks to some of the speakers about the challenges and opportunities of structural transformation, growth, and economic development.
Informal employment in Mexico amounts to half of all employment. In the fourth episode, Tim talks to Brenda Samaniego de la Parra about the informal economy and her latest research on the value attributed to formal jobs.
In the 2024 season of the Conversations on Transformation series, recorded at the STEG Annual Conference at NYU Abu-Dhabi, Tim Phillips talks to some of the speakers about the challenges and opportunities of structural transformation, growth, and economic development.
In the third episode, Tim talks to Felipe Sáenz about his latest research on the Industrial Revolution and the patterns of growth that began in Europe and the United States more than two centuries ago, which are now spreading globally.
In the 2024 season of the Conversations on Transformation series recorded at the STEG Annual Conference at NYU Abu Dhabi, Tim Phillips talks to some of the speakers about the challenges and opportunities of structural transformation, growth, and economic development.
In the second episode, Tim talks to Yaw Nyarko, who set up a microcredit system and nano-commodity exchanges for maize farmers in Ghana.
In the 2024 season of the Conversations on Transformation series, recorded at the STEG Annual Conference 2024 at NYU Abu-Dhabi, Tim Phillips talks to some of the speakers about the challenges and opportunities of structural transformation, growth, and economic development.
The focus of the first episode is industrial policy. Tim talks to Yongseok Shin, who, during his keynote at the conference, examined South Korea's economic growth in recent decades to identify a research agenda that could help better understand and potentially replicate such economic miracles.
The Conversations on Transformation series, narrated by Tim Phillips, investigates some of the most important new research in structural transformation, growth and economic development.
In this fifth and final episode, Tim talks to Marina Ngoma (Tufts University) about how Chinese imports have spurred manufacturing employment in Ethiopia.
Read Chinese Imports and Industrialization in Africa: Evidence from Ethiopia by Marina Ngoma (Tufts University) presented at the STEG Annual Conference 2023.
The Conversations on Transformation series, narrated by Tim Phillips, investigates some of the most important new research in structural transformation, growth and economic development.
In this fourth episode of five, Tim talks to Nina Pavcnik (Dartmouth College) about how multinational affiliates and domestic firms in Vietnam adjusted to new export opportunities in the United States.
Read FDI Inflows and Domestic Firms: Adjustments to New Export Opportunities by Brian McCaig (Wilfrid Laurier University), Nina Pavcnik (Dartmouth College), and Woan Foong Wong (University of Oregon) presented at the STEG Annual Conference 2023.
Photo credit: Hien Phung - stock.adobe.com
The Conversations on Transformation series, narrated by Tim Phillips, investigates some of the most important new research in structural transformation, growth and economic development.
In this third episode of five, Tim talks to Allan Hsiao (Princeton University) about how Jakarta has adapted to sea level rise and why government intervention might have actually complicated the issue.
Read Sea Level Rise and Urban Adaptation in Jakarta by Allan Hsiao (Princeton University) presented at the STEG Annual Conference 2023.
The Conversations on Transformation series, narrated by Tim Phillips, investigates some of the most important new research in structural transformation, growth and economic development.
In this second episode of five, Tim talks to Nathan Lane (University of Oxford) about a new approach to measuring industrial policy and the new insights this offers.
Read The Who, What, When, and How of Industrial Policy: A Text-Based Approach by Réka Juhász (Columbia University), Nathan Lane (University of Oxford), Emily Oehlsen (University of Oxford), and Verónica C. Pérez (Columbia University) presented at the STEG Annual Conference 2023.
The Conversations on Transformation series, narrated by Tim Phillips, investigates some of the most important new research in structural transformation, growth and economic development.
In this first episode of five, Tim talks to Adnan Khan (Chief Economist at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) about how research is put into practice and the importance of structural transformation in contemporary policy.
This series, narrated by Tim Phillips, investigates some of the most important new research in economic development. In this fifth and final episode, Tim talks to Nicola Limodio (Bocconi University) about the investment of Chinese firms in developing economies.
Read The Impact of Chinese FDI in Africa: Evidence From Ethiopia by Riccardo Crescenzi (LSE) and Nicola Limodio (Bocconi University)
This series, narrated by Tim Phillips, investigates some of the most important new research in economic development. In this fourth episode of five, Tim talks to Katherine Stapleton (Oxford University) about automation in advanced economies and what this means for trade and globalisation.
Read Automation, Trade and Multinational Activity: Micro Evidence from Spain by Katherine Stapleton (Oxford University) and Michael Webb (Stanford University)
This series, narrated by Tim Phillips, investigates some of the most important new research in economic development. In this third episode of five, Tim talks to Frederico Huneeus (Bank of Chile) and Richard Rogerson (Princeton) about one of the biggest questions on economic development, what determines the differential pathways of industrialisation that we observe across countries.
Read Heterogeneous Paths of Industrialization by Federico Huneeus (Bank of Chile) and Richard Rogerson (Princeton) presented at the STEG Annual Conference 2021
This series, narrated by Tim Phillips, investigates some of the most important new research in economic development. In this second episode of five, Tim talks to Stephie Fried (Arizona State University and San Francisco Fed) about how important a reliable source of electricity is for firms that want to grow.
Read Electricity and Firm Productivity: A General-Equilibrium Approach by Stephie Fried (Arizona State University and San Francisco Fed) and David Lagakos presented at the STEG Annual Conference 2021
This series, narrated by Tim Phillips, investigates some of the most important new research in economic development. In this first episode of five, Tim talks to Doug Gollin (CEPR & Oxford University) & Joe Kaboski (CEPR & Notre Dame), the academic leads of Structural Transformation & Economic Growth (STEG) programme, about what structural transformation is and the need for this programme.
STEG is a research initiative that aims to provide a better understanding of structural change, productivity and growth in low- and middle-income countries that is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.