International Growth Centre

15/09/2026

What happens when factories remain standing, but the jobs they once provided disappear?

A new feature highlights how political disruption and factory shutdowns in Bangladesh can create economic losses that extend far beyond individual businesses, affecting workers, local communities, banks, supply chains and exports.

Research from the International Growth Centre shows just how significant these effects can be: seven days of hartal reduced firms’ export performance by 4.5%, with smaller exporters and those selling lower-priced products particularly affected.

The lesson is clear: political and economic stability are not separate from growth. Protecting firms’ ability to operate, access finance and maintain trade is essential for sustaining jobs and supporting Bangladesh’s longer-term economic transformation.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3URXCAI

When protests, political programmes or sudden changes shut down a factory, workers are usually among the first to feel the shock

15/09/2026

🌍 LSE Environment Week 2026 is nearly here:

From 21–24 September, LSE Environment Week brings together researchers, policymakers and practitioners to explore the economic and policy challenges shaping climate action and sustainable growth.

Across four days, discussions will explore how countries can deliver low-carbon growth, create jobs, expand energy access, mobilise investment and protect people, while connecting rigorous economic evidence with the realities and constraints policymakers face.

Join us for this year’s Africa Track, which puts African researchers, policymakers and institutions at the heart of the conversation, bringing locally rooted perspectives on climate finance, adaptation, innovation and sustainable growth to wider global debates ahead of COP32.

Wednesday 23 September:

Climate and Development in Africa: Evidence and Policy Challenges | 14:00–15:30

A research keynote from Prof. Alemnu Mekonnen, followed by a policy panel featuring senior officials from Mozambique, Ethiopia and Ghana.

IGC Policy Roundtable: How should evidence systems change to support harder climate policy choices? | 16:00–17:15

An invitation-only discussion on how evidence systems need to evolve as climate policy decisions become more difficult and consequential.

Public Lecture: The Road to COP32: Setting the African Agenda for Climate Action | 18:00–19:30

An evening public event, available in person and online, exploring priorities for African climate action on the road to COP32.

Register for the public lecture: https://bit.ly/4ra8iXf

Find out more and sign up for sessions across the rest of the programme.

📅 21–24 September 2026
👉 Register for LSE Environment Week: https://bit.ly/4h6YkBr

14/09/2026

🌍 The road to COP32: setting the African agenda for climate action

As the world looks ahead to COP32 in Addis Ababa, Africa has a unique opportunity to shape the future of global climate negotiations, and to put implementation, investment and innovation at the heart of the agenda.

Join us for a public event during LSE Environment Week as leading voices from policy, finance and academia explore how African leadership can help move climate action beyond commitments and financing targets towards practical solutions and resilient, low-carbon growth.

Speakers:

Amal-Lee Amin, Managing Director, Climate, Gender & Diversity and Advisory, British International Investment

oriana bandiera,Sir Anthony Atkinson Professor of Economics; Director, STICERD, London School of Economics

Auguste Tano Kouameé, Visiting Professor in Practice (Climate and Development, Africa and COP32), Grantham Research Institute, London School of Economics

Vera Songwe, Chair, Liquidity and Sustainability Facility; Nonresident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution.

Chair: Lord Nicholas Stern, IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government; Chair, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics

📅 Wednesday 23 September 2026
⏰ 18:00–19:30
📍 LSE campus + online
🌱 Hosted by LSE Environment Week

Hosted by LSE Environment Week

Register to attend or watch online: https://www.lse.ac.uk/events/african-agenda-for-climate-action

10/09/2026

We asked ministers from Rwanda, Zambia and Sierra Leone where AI is creating the greatest opportunities for their governments.

Rwanda, Zambia and Sierra Leone are each showing what's possible when governments move early and deliberately on AI. The next challenge is scaling that progress: building the capabilities, systems and safeguards to turn early wins into lasting results for citizens.

These conversations took place at the IGC event, Governing with AI in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), where ministers, senior public officials, researchers, technology leaders and development partners came together to discuss exactly this question: how can governments in LMICs harness AI responsibly, and at scale?

We were pleased to hear from Yves N. Iradukunda, Minister of State at the Ministry of ICT and Innovation (MINICT), Rwanda; Kusobile Stewart Kamwambi, Head of the Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU), Government of Zambia; and Salima Bah, Minister of Communications, Technology and InnovationSierra Leone, alongside Alex Jones, Senior Director, Global Impact at Public Digital, Rose M. Mutiso, Ph.D., Founder and Executive DirectorAfrican Tech Futures Lab and Joanne Ke Edelman, Associate DirectorGlobal Development Incubator.

Watch the ministers and IGC's Shah Rukh share their perspectives below.

https://bit.ly/4A1P4qQ

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10/09/2026

How can Jordan create more and better jobs? 🇯🇴💼

A new opinion piece by Dr Raad Mahmoud Al-Tal, IGC’s lead local academic, in the Jordan Times highlights a critical part of the challenge: productivity. 📈

Boosting productivity and shifting towards more productive modes of working will be essential to creating better jobs and supporting inclusive economic growth. 🌍🤝

Read the full article in the Jordan Times: 👇

https://jordantimes.com/opinion/raad-mahmoud-al-tal/jordans-employment-challenge-more-jobs-better-jobs

Jordan’s labour market remains one of the country’s most important economic challenges. Unemployment is high, especially among young people and women, whil...

09/09/2026

For a decade, the International Growth Centre has partnered with Uganda’s Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to bring rigorous evidence, research and policy dialogue to the country’s growth agenda. 📊

The 10th Economic Growth Forum marked an important milestone in that partnership, bringing together government, researchers, academics and the private sector to consider what it will take to deliver Uganda’s ambition of tenfold economic growth by 2040. 📈

From AI and productivity to industrialisation, exports, investment and competitiveness, discussions focused on turning evidence into practical solutions for Uganda’s next phase of growth. 💡

As Ramathan Ggoobi noted, the partnership has demonstrated how evidence-based policymaking can help change Uganda’s economy.

Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eyyX_5Qb

We’re pleased to continue working with the Ministry and partners to ensure evidence informs policy — and that policy translates into impact.

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08/09/2026

🎙️ In the latest episode of BBC Focus on Africa, IGC's Sandra Sequeira explains how introducing appointment scheduling in Mozambique's public health clinics reduced waiting times and helped more pregnant women access vital antenatal care.

Listen on BBC sounds, with our segment starting at 11:50: https://lnkd.in/eEWDb95y

Thank you to Carolyne W. and the team at BBC Focus on Africa for covering this project, which shows the power of a simple and low-cost intervention when designed and implemented correctly.

Clip credit: Franco Sacchi, Sandra Sequeira, Eureka Film Productions.

08/09/2026

🌍 What should Africa’s climate agenda look like on the road to COP32?

As Africa prepares to host COP32 in Addis Ababa, there is a critical opportunity to shape a climate agenda that moves beyond ambition and financing targets — towards mobilising investment and delivering practical solutions for resilient, low-carbon growth. 🌱💡

The International Growth Centre (IGC) is pleased to be hosting this public lecture during LSE Environment Week, alongside LSE’s Economics of Environment and Energy Programme and Global School of Sustainability.

📅 Wednesday 23 September
⏰ 6–7:30pm
📍 In person at LSE or online

We’ll bring together leading voices from policy, finance and academia to explore how African leadership can shape the next chapter of global climate action.

🎟️ Register to join us in person: https://www.lse.ac.uk/events/african-agenda-for-climate-action

6:30pm Wed 23 Sept | Vera Songwe | Ticket Required | Free public event at LSE

08/09/2026

📈 Uganda’s ambition for tenfold economic growth calls for bold ideas and practical action.

Finance Minister Henry Musasizi has challenged experts to find bold, practical ways to deliver Uganda’s ambition of tenfold economic growth. 🇺🇬

We’re proud to see the International Growth Centre’s continued collaboration with the Ministry recognised for its role in strengthening evidence-based policymaking. 📊🔍

💡 Turning ambition into sustainable growth will require strong evidence, innovative thinking, and practical solutions.

Read more:

Finance Minister Henry Musasizi has challenged economists, researchers and private-sector players to come up with bold policy ideas to help Uganda achieve its target of growing the economy tenfold by 2040. Musasizi said...

07/09/2026

🎓 Starting TOMORROW!

The 2026 BREAD-IGC virtual PhD-level course on begins 8 September.

Join leading development economists for 12 online lectures exploring the latest research on political economy in low- and middle-income countries.

💻 Online | 🆓 Free to attend

Join the BREAD-IGC virtual PhD course 2026 to deepen your understanding of political economy challenges and policies.