International Growth Centre  The International Growth Centre (IGC) is an economic research centre based at the London School of Economics, operated in partnership with University of Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government. The centre was launched in December 2008 and is funded by the Department for International Development. The IGC is led by Jonathan Leape, along with directors Robin Burgess, Sir Paul Collier, Anthony Venables, John Sutton and Chang-Tai Hsieh. The centre runs 15 country offices in 14 partner states and directs a global network of over 1,000 researchers. IGC research is based around four research themes: state, firms, cities, and energy. These research programmes are led by 10 Research Programme Directors. Since its foundation the IGC has supported over 650 research projects. The IGC has also responded to specific government requests for advice in countries such as Malawi, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka. IGC country programmes are led by Country Directors working with dedicated Lead Academics, supported by locally based Country Economists. IGC country programme teams are based in the offices of think tanks or government bodies within the relevant country. IGC researchers include Esther Duflo, Nicholas Bloom, Rachel Glennerster, Lant Pritchett, John Van Reenen, Nicholas Stern, Dean Karlan, Edward Miguel, and Maurice Obstfeld. For each partner country, the IGC supports a team of resident economists who respond to specific policy demands on issues of economic growth. This covers applied economic analysis, long-term research and policy engagement activities, as well as rapid responses to pressing policy questions. The IGC Bangladesh programme was established in 2009. It is currently hosted in the BRAC University Institute of Governance and Development. The programme focuses on five areas of research: i) state effectiveness ii) firm capabilities iii) food security iv) infrastructure development, and v) sustainable urbanisation in Bangladesh. Professor Mushfiq Mobarak (Yale University and Professor Fahad Khalil (University of Washington) serve as Lead Academics for IGC Bangladesh. In 2014, IGC country researcher and former caretaker government adviser, Wahiduddin Mahmud addressed an IGC co-hosted conference at BRAC University on the issue of dysfunctional governance in Bangladesh. The IGC Ethiopia programme was established in 2010, in partnership with the Ethiopian Development Research Institute. IGC Ethiopia focuses on the following research areas: industrial development, urbanisation, developing agriculture, youth unemployment, and state effectiveness. In 2014 IGC Ethiopia jointly sponsored a small grants scheme for junior researchers with the Ethiopian Economics Association.