January 2017 saw the launch of the UK Department for International Development’s first economic development strategy, demonstrating how the potential of economic transformation to create jobs and reduce poverty is becoming central to the objectives of many developing countries and aid agencies.

There is no doubt that economic transformation – the movement of labour from low- to higher-productivity sectors (for example, agriculture to manufacturing) – has the potential to reduce poverty and drive sustainable, inclusive growth in developing countries. Yet, efforts to promote transformational policies have not always proven to be successful; many low-income countries that have attempted to transform their economies have experienced low-quality, jobless growth with little in the way of genuine transformation.

This panel event sees the launch of ODI’s Supporting Economic Transformation (SET) programme’s flagship approach paper, and brings together key figures driving forward the transformation agenda to discuss: what is economic transformation, what does it mean for the world’s poorest, and how it can be supported in practice?