Conference

STEG Annual Conference Week 2024

at 10:00

​​​​​​​STEG’s fourth annual conference and associated thematic workshops will be held between Wednesday 10 January and Tuesday 17 January at NYU Abu Dhabi and Barcelona School of Economics.

CEPR’s Structural Transformation and Economic Growth (STEG) programme invites applications to present at the fourth Annual Conference on Structural Transformation and Economic Growth and Theme Workshops between 10 and  17 January 2024.  Funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), STEG is a research initiative that aims to provide a better understanding of structural change, productivity, and growth in low- and middle-income countries. 

The conference, along with workshops on STEG Themes 0, 1 and 2 will take place in-person at New York University (NYU) Abu Dhabi from Wednesday 10 to Saturday 13 January 2024  with support from the NYU Social Science Division.  Themes 3, 4 and 5 workshops will take place the following week in Barcelona at the Barcelona School of Economics from 15 -17 January 2024Workshops 3 and 4 are funded by the European Research Council (ERC)-Institute of Political Economy and Governance (IPEG) Presentations will stream to a broader external audience.


About the events

The STEG conference will showcase keynote talks, academic and policy panels, ongoing projects, and recent research papers related to structural transformation. Along with full-length presentations, shorter sessions will display a wide range of research, particularly by young scholars. We hope to highlight the field's diverse research and disseminate outstanding projects funded by STEG. We also hope to provide networking and engagement opportunities for early-career researchers across various institutions and geographies.

The Thematic Workshops, unlike previous online workshops, will take place in person. Facilitated by the STEG Theme Leaders, these events go into more depth on STEG’s particular focus themes.


Themes and cross-cutting issues

We welcome submissions for the conference and themed workshops from researchers interested in studying broad systemic patterns and processes of structural transformation and growth in low- and middle-income countries. Submissions can explore comparative analyses across time or space, or focus on specific topics related to our research themes (associated workshop date) below.

  • Theme 0: Data, Measurement, and Conceptual Framing (10 January 2024)
  • Theme 1: Firms, Frictions and Spillovers, and Industrial Policy (10 January 2024)
  • Theme 2: Labour, Home Production, and Structural Transformation (13 January 2024)
  • Theme 3: Agricultural Productivity and Sectoral Gaps (15-16 January 2024)
  • Theme 4: Trade and Spatial Frictions (15-16 January 2024)
  • Theme 5: Political Economy and Public Investment (17 January 2024)

STEG also prioritises three cross-cutting issues: gender, climate change and the environment, and inequality and inclusion. We encourage papers that address these issues alongside structural transformation.

STEG’s goal is to generate research and evidence to inform policy in low-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, we seek papers that demonstrate clear relevance to this objective.

Submitted papers will be considered for both the conference and Theme Workshops unless otherwise specified in your application ‘notes’. More information on the structure and emphasis of each theme workshop can be found on the STEG website here. 


Please note:

  • If you do not want your submission also considered for the associated Thematic workshop, please indicate so in the ‘notes’ section of the application portal.
  • If you want to submit a paper to multiple themes you will need to submit the paper to each theme individually.
  • Please upload your CV as part of your submission.
  • Only complete or near complete papers will be considered.
  • Successful applicants will be invited towards the end of September 2023 and will be expected to respond promptly.
  • The deadline for submission is Thursday, 7 September 2023, 23:59 BST.

How to apply:

Authors who already have a CEPR HUB profile can upload their submission by:

  1. Going to https://hub.cepr.org/ and logging in
  2. After you have logged in, go to https://hub.cepr.org/event/3992
  3. Click on "Step 1: Apply"
  4. Under "Apply to Attend" click "Yes"
  5. Tick the boxes that apply to you
  6. Tick "Would you like to submit a paper?", upload your paper and supply the requested information *You can submit additional papers, or use this option to submit the paper to more than one theme
  7. Click "Submit form" to make the submission.

Authors who do not have a CEPR HUB profile can upload their submission by:

  1. Creating a new profile here https://hub.cepr.org/user/register
  2. After you have logged in, go to https://hub.cepr.org/event/3992
  3. Click on "Step 1: Apply"
  4. Under "Apply to Attend" click "Yes"
  5. Tick the boxes that apply to you
  6. Tick "Would you like to submit a paper?", upload your paper and supply the requested information *You can submit additional papers, or use this option to submit the paper to more than one theme
  7. Click "Submit form" to make the submission.

If you have any difficulties registering or submitting a paper for this conference, please contact Mandy Chan, Head of Events at [email protected].

Related content

STEG Working Paper Series

The Stable Transformation Path

Francisco Buera, Martí Mestieri, Joseph P. Kaboski, Daniel O'Connor • The Stable Transformation Path