International Growth Centre
The International Growth Centre (IGC) is a research institute based jointly at the London School of Economics and Oxford University that provides advice on economic growth to governments of developing countries. The IGC is initiated and funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) [[1]].
The IGC has country programmes in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Mozambique and Rwanda and supports over seventy individual research projects on issues of governance, human capital, agriculture, infrastructure, trade, firm capability, state capacity, macroeconomics and political economy. Steering Group members include Paul Collier [[2]], Tim Besley [[3]], Stefan Dercon [[4]], Chang-Tai Tsieh and Mark Henstridge. The IGC is directed by Gobind Nankani [Nankani].
The IGC spans a London hub, country offices in partner countries, a group of 10 research programmes with participation from academics in world-class institutions, a network of policy stakeholders in the developing world and a range of public, civil society and private sector partners.
The IGC-Bangladesh programme is formulating a strategy to respond to long-standing policy questions, such as governance, non-traditional export prospects beyond garments, rationalisation of the tax system, poverty alleviation (including the impact of microcredit), and improvements in social indicators. The program is also looking at short- to medium-term work on climate change, urbanisation under intense population density and skill formation in a rapidly expanding labour force. The IGC-Bangladesh office is hosted by the Economic Research Group in Dhaka.
The IGC-Ethiopia addresses agricultural innovation, the functioning of rural input and output markets, the structure of the rural finance system, the interaction of the agriculture sector with the rest of the economy, industrial policy and other areas. The IGC-Ethiopia office is housed at the Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI), which is directed by the Chief Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister. Professor John Sutton has written a book, "An Enterprise Map of Ethiopia", on industrial capacity.
The IGC-Ghana programme focuses on macroeconomic stability, agriculture sector restructuring, private sector development, education and skills acquisition, and natural resource management. Specific policy questions include management of inflation, agricultural finance and credit constraints, and the returns to education. The IGC-Ghana office is hosted by the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER).
The IGC-India Central programme was launched with a conference in Delhi in April 2010 that brought together government officials and legislators, academics and NGO representatives. The programme is identifying and funding research projects on a few specific topics that government officials expressed particular interest in.
The IGC-India Bihar programme started in November 2009 and currently focuses on state capacity, structural transformation and flood management. In addition, the programme also studies the growth experience in Bihar. Specific contributions include work on fiscal consolidation and debt management, accountability of local government service delivery, and streamlining investment process to improve the business climate. To understand the high rates of growth recently observed, studies have been planned to first understand the growth experience and also to analyse the determinants of growth in the State. The IGC-Bihar team contributes policy options on the targeting of flood relief and a study on the effects of floods on growth, as well as convening an interdisciplinary group of flood management experts.
The IGC-Sierra Leone programme focuses on private sector development and export diversification, the financial sector, and agriculture. Specific areas of policy advice include improving the investment climate, intervention policies for export promotion, technical and vocational education and training reform, fostering effective cooperation among private sector firms, developing a coherent approach to nurturing a national innovation system, strategy to encourage commercial farming, and risk management in banking sector supervision. The IGC-Sierra Leone office will be hosted by the Government of Sierra Leone [[5]].
The IGC-Pakistan programme is focused on macroeconomic policy and public finance, firm capabilities and competitiveness, political economy, state capabilities and governance; household behaviour and human capital; and agriculture and water.
The IGC-Tanzania programme is focused on macroeconomic management, public finance, poverty reduction, regional trade and infrastructure, firm capabilities, and agriculture. Specific research and analytical work covers fiscal policy issues, the challenge of jobless growth, money demand, food and fuel prices and inflation dynamics, dollarization, spatial price dispersion and market integration, and other areas. The IGC-Tanzania office is hosted by the Bank of Tanzania [[6]].
The IGC has held initial talks with the Government of Mozambique, Rwanda and Zambia