This book evaluates development progress using the lens of structural transformation in four groups of developing countries: Africa’s least developed countries (LDCs), Asia’s LDCs, landlocked Central Asian countries, and Pacific small island states. The analysis presented is contextualized in the diverse economic characteristics and geopolitical landscape of the four categories of countries. 

In doing so, research on Africa’s LDCs emphasizes the overall picture of missed economic opportunities, while the research on Asia's LDCs focus on policy lessons. The chapter on landlocked Central Asian countries focuses more on the unique transition experience of those countries coming out from USSR hinterlands to independent states in the wake of the third wave of democratisation in the 1990s. Lastly the evaluation of Pacific small island states is very much influenced by the fate of geography for being small in size and remotely located. 

The diverse coverage offers readers rich varieties of structural transformation experiences and comparative development perspectives. The book is non-technical, with descriptive, narrative, and analytical approaches on comparative development, making it suitable and accessible for non-specialist audiences.