S4 Ep1: Digital technologies in developing countries

Recorded at the 2025 annual conference of the Structural Transformation and Economic Growth Programme, held at the University of Oxford.When we think about digital technologies in business, we tend to think about payments and transactions. Throughout his career, Robert Townsend of MIT has studied the impact of financial systems, insurance and credit in development, especially in rural Thailand. He talks to Tim Phillips about how tech like blockchain can replicate and even improve on the social structures that sustain commerce in these settings.