Structural Transformation and Sustainable Development in the Global South: An Integrated Approach

This book investigates the relationship between sustainable development and structural transformation within international development policy.

On the one hand, sustainable development is promoted as a multi-dimensional concept for achieving environmentally and socially responsible change. On the other hand, structural transformation refers to a sustained period of growth in living standards and incomes that brings sectoral change. For some, these two objectives seem at odds with each other, but this book argues that incorporating environmental initiatives into structural transformation goals in lower-income countries actually results in better results than strategies prioritising economic growth. Drawing on extensive structural equation modelling and original analysis, the book presents an innovative inclusive sustainable development framework to demonstrate the benefits of a more integrated approach to development planning, aiming for structural transformation in line with inclusive sustainable development principles.

This book will be of interest to students and researchers of global development, and to policymakers within government and development organizations.

Seung Jin Baek is a South Korean Economist of the United Nations, specialising in the political economy of sustainable development, where he primarily focuses on knowledge production for the provision of evidence-based advisory services to the Member States on development plans, strategies and frameworks. He holds a PhD from the University of Bath, UK.