Section outline

  • This course will focus on the linkages between structural transformation, economic growth and the attainment of internationally agreed development goals. It will offer an analysis of recent progress in these three areas, using examples from developing countries and least developed countries, and present some concrete policy tools for accelerating the process of structural transformation. In the first session, the interdependence between economic and human development will be discussed, and some recent evidence on the critical role of structural transformation and labour productivity growth in effecting this nexus will be presented. The course will then address more practical industrial policy concerns and present an innovative policy tool designed to guide the evolution of an economy towards the production of progressively higher value-added goods. The final session will focus on the central contribution of agricultural upgrading and rural diversification to the entire process of structural transformation in developing countries.

    Delivered by the Division on Africa, Least Developed Countries and Special Programmes