Linn Ternsjö
Department of Economic History
About me
I am a PhD candidate at the Agenda 2030 Graduate School and the Department of Economic History, School of Economics and Management at Lund University, where I work on matters of sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa, structural transformation, and the experiences of women workers in development and industrialization processes. I have a BA in Economics and Development Studies from SOAS, University of London, and an MSc in International Development and Management from Lund University.
In 2019, I oversaw and coordinated phase 2 of the Green Assets Wallet project, the first blockchain platform for validating green bonds and reporting on green impact. I am still involved as an Academic Affiliate of Stockholm Green Digital Finance, a not-for-profit that aims to accelerate investments to effectively deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement. Prior, I worked as a Sustainability Consultant for EY, where I advised and supported clients on sustainability reporting. Between 2017 and 2018, I was at the UNDP and conducted field research in Ethiopia on women's employment in the garment industry. I’ve also gained work experience from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm and the Embassy of Sweden in Rwanda.
About my research project
My PhD studies focus on the experiences of structural economic transformation and the transition from labour-intensive to more service-led types of growth and sustainable development, with a particular focus on the case of Mauritius, under the supervision of Ellen Hillbom and Cristina Chaminade. I am interested in the historical underpinnings of Mauritius’s socio-economic transition to sustainability and its impacts on labour rights and gender relations.
My project is relevant for the overarching Agenda 2030 goal of ‘leaving no one behind’. It is specifically relevant to SDG 5 on gender equality, SDG 8 on decent work and economic growth, and to some extent also SDG 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure. How, for example, has Mauritius’s structural transformation merged two possibly conflicting visions of development (as outlined in SDG 8), and what has been the role of women’s agency in the transformation processes?