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Artwork for Conversations on Transformation
Economic Development
Agricultural Productivity
Industrial Policy
Structural Transformation
Land Inequality
Migration
Green Transition
India
Slack
Critical Raw Materials
Cash Transfers
Firm Underutilization
European Bank For Reconstruction and Development
Nigeria
Tariffs
Kenya
Credit Markets
Employment
Brazil
Digital Technologies

The Growth Research Podcast explores important new research on the challenges faced by developing economies.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes35Founded10 months ago
Number of ListenersCategories
EducationSociety & Culture

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Artwork for Conversations on Transformation

Latest Episodes

In Uganda, every sale between two VAT-registered firms reaches the tax authority twice. The seller reports it, and so does the buyer. But the two numbers rarely match. In Turkiye, a supplier that installs its first industrial robot doesn’t make an an... more

Name a rich country that did not move its farm workers into factories, because Michael Peters says it would be hard to find one. Many years ago, Europe and the US took that road, then Japan and Korea, then China and Vietnam. But when workers in India... more

Some studies find that AI destroys jobs, some find no effect, and some find that it creates them. Gustavo de Souza of the Chicago Fed argues that AI has different labour market impacts in different occupations. To test this, he uses records of Brazil... more

A tractor can plough an acre of Kenyan maize land in about an hour and a half. By hand, it takes a farmer nearly a week. Few smallholders can afford to buy a tractor, so they rent one. The tractor’s owner often lives in town, and employs an operator ... more

In many cities in low-income countries, the grid fails often enough that businesses keep a diesel generator out the back. So an unreliable electricity grid looks like it is holding poor economies back. In many countries, lenders are putting money beh... more

In 2010, fast broadband in Colombia reached Bogota. Then the government began to lay fibre to hundreds more municipalities. Factories in those towns gained the tools city firms already had: a website, online orders, job ads, video calls, bank transfe... more

Kampala's street vendors and boda boda drivers own little that ties them to one spot. The fruit seller has a wheelbarrow. Yet a vendor in a parish near the top of the city's profit ladder earns more than three times as much as a similar vendor near t... more

Conversations on Transformation, a STEG podcast

A wage job in a poor country is a precarious thing. In the poorest economies in Todd Schoellman's sample, more than 20% of wage workers lose their job within three months, against under 5% in rich coun... more

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Recent Guests

Michael Peters
Associate Professor of Economics and Associate Chair of the Department of Economics at Yale University
Yale University
Episode: S5 Ep8: Skipping the factory
Gustavo de Souza
Economist in the economic research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Episode: S5 Ep7: AI in the office and the factory
Sophie Nottmeyer
Research economist at Banco de Mexico studying market access, organizational frictions and economic geography
Banco de Mexico
Episode: S5 Ep6: Tracking Kenya's tractors
Martin Shu
Author, co-author on electricity sector TFP study
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Episode: S5 Ep5: Is electricity a weak link in development?
Gaurav Chiplunkar
Researcher at University of Virginia
University of Virginia
Episode: S5 Ep4: Broadband on the factory floor
Carolyn Pelnik
Researcher from World Bank Development Research Group
World Bank / Development Research Group
Episode: S5 Ep3: Moving to profitability
Todd Schoellman
Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; co-author of the study on spousal insurance
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Episode: S5 Ep2: Why Is There Not More Spousal Insurance?
Eric Verhoogen
Professor of Economics at Columbia University, discussing misallocation and wedges
Columbia University
Episode: S5 Ep1: A Microeconomic Perspective on Misallocation
Gaaitzen de Vries
Author, University of Groningen
University of Groningen
Episode: S4 Ep9: Structural change in sub-Saharan Africa

Host

Tim Phillips
Host of the podcast; associated with STEG/conference and Oxford-based economics initiatives.

Top Education Podcasts

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The BossticksLauryn Bosstick and Michael Bosstick / Dear Media
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The Daily StoicDaily Stoic | Backyard Ventures

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

S5 Ep8: Skipping the factory
Q: Is there necessarily the same narrative for services that it could be pro-poor in that way?
Peters says the distributional effects are uncertain, but locally consumed services and luxury-oriented demand can disproportionately benefit wealthy urban residents. Formalizing retail and transport work may create jobs suited to workers with moderate levels of education and make growth more inclusive.
S5 Ep8: Skipping the factory
Q: And why is it that this causes growth?
Peters describes two plausible channels: moving workers from less productive agriculture into other sectors raises productivity through reallocation, while manufacturing has traditionally supported innovation and technology adoption.
S5 Ep7: AI in the office and the factory
Q: When you're looking at AI applications in production, how are they affecting employment?
De Souza finds that production AI increases employment by giving workers better information and helping them make better decisions. Younger, less-educated workers with lower past wages benefit particularly, while wage differences within occupations decrease.
S5 Ep7: AI in the office and the factory
Q: What's the range of impacts that economists have come up with?
Studies report negative, neutral, and positive effects on employment. De Souza says the differences can reflect the applications of AI, the tasks involved, and how AI is used across occupations and industries.
S5 Ep6: Tracking Kenya's tractors
Q: Which policy works better? Which is less costly?
Fuel subsidies would cost several billion dollars to achieve the same efficiency gains, while the monitoring technology is more than two orders of magnitude cheaper.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Conversations on Transformation

What is Conversations on Transformation about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This program centers on structural transformation, economic development, and policy implications in low- and middle-income contexts. Across episodes, listeners encounter research on land reform, migration, urban transport, energy policy, and productivity, often with a focus on how institutions, credit systems, and policy design shape outcomes for workers, households, and communities. The discussions frequently highlight practical policy levers—regulatory reforms, targeted investments, and governance improvements—that aim to boost productivity, inclusion, and resilience without assuming large new infrastructure expenditures. A notable pattern is the emphasis on real-world trade-offs and heterogeneity in results, suggesting a listener audienc... more

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2. Conversations with Tyler

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Conversations on Transformation launched 10 months ago and published 35 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Conversations on Transformation?

Recent guests on Conversations on Transformation include:

1. Michael Peters
2. Gustavo de Souza
3. Sophie Nottmeyer
4. Martin Shu
5. Gaurav Chiplunkar
6. Carolyn Pelnik
7. Todd Schoellman
8. Eric Verhoogen

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