Global poverty, Paul Collier points out, is actually falling quite rapidly for about eighty percent of the world. The real crisis lies in a group o...
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Jan 03, 2012
Pwilczewski
rated it: 
Its rare that a book shakes so many of my beliefs. I didn't believe the following until I read this book:
(1) Foreign military intervention is usually very helpful
(2) Foreign aid is necessary to development
(3) Democracy is not the right government for many countries
(4) Large supplies of natural resources often do more harm than good
(5) Some countries have missed the boat on development and are destined to be very poor for a very long time
It was a depressing More...
(1) Foreign military intervention is usually very helpful
(2) Foreign aid is necessary to development
(3) Democracy is not the right government for many countries
(4) Large supplies of natural resources often do more harm than good
(5) Some countries have missed the boat on development and are destined to be very poor for a very long time
It was a depressing More...
Jan 03, 2012
Lucy
rated it:
Of all the books I've ever read on development I thought this one gave quite a balanced and pragmatic approach to the subject.
His argument that there are 4 key issues which should be debated (standards; aid; trade;security) was a good summary of development discourse as it currently stands and he made some reasoned arguments which I had never heard before (probably because I'm not very well read in this area). I had no idea for example that there were very few laws on election spendin More...
His argument that there are 4 key issues which should be debated (standards; aid; trade;security) was a good summary of development discourse as it currently stands and he made some reasoned arguments which I had never heard before (probably because I'm not very well read in this area). I had no idea for example that there were very few laws on election spendin More...
Dec 10, 2011
Justin
rated it: 
I have just finished reading Paul Colliers book the Bottom Billion. http://www.amazon.com/Bottom-Billion-Poo... ie=UTF8&qid=1323505577&sr=8-2 Now at this point this review could easily turn into a sales pitch about how good the kindle app on my android tablet is and how it brings books that would be $30 or more in an Australian store to my tablet for the cost of $9. However, today I will review the book.
Paul Collier is Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for the Study of More...
Paul Collier is Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for the Study of More...
Oct 23, 2011
Void
rated it: 
In terms of research and analysis this book is brilliant. Some fascinating studies and perspectives. The reason I don't rate the book higher is that the author has a clear interventionist bias (just like some organizations he's describing, but he misses his own). Helping others is obviously awesome and something we all want... but just like he describes many past well intending measures which have not only not helped but often even hurt, who's to say his measures will be not another failed exper
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Jul 30, 2011
Lester
rated it:
I'll start with what I did not like. I did not like that Paul Collier assumes that growth is a good tihng, and that it is the main thing required for the bottom billion to get going. There are (for me) numerous disadvantages with continuous (not to mention double-digit) economic growth, and to assume that the consequences of such growth in 20% of the worlds population will not be diastrous for the world ecosystem (economic and ecological) is irresponsible.
I also am surprised that Collier seems t More...
I also am surprised that Collier seems t More...
Apr 07, 2011
Bojan
rated it:
This is one the best policy books that I have read and an example of what a good policy book should be all about. It deals with the subject that is often in public spotlight and yet it seems as intractable today as it was decades ago. This sad state of affairs may in at least part be attributed to some of the misunderstanding of what global poverty is all about, who is most affected by it, and what sort of traps those most affected find themselves incapable of escaping. As this book clearly argu
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Feb 16, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
Subtitled: Why the Poorest Counties are Failing and What Can Be Done About It
Basically, this guy thinks that most peoples' lives in the developing world are getting better (eg Brazil etc). However, there are about a billion people in the poorest countries whose lives are not improving at all and show no signs of improving. He thinks aid etc should be focused almost entirely on this relatively small group of countries, and its a matter of habit/culture that development assistance is not More...
Basically, this guy thinks that most peoples' lives in the developing world are getting better (eg Brazil etc). However, there are about a billion people in the poorest countries whose lives are not improving at all and show no signs of improving. He thinks aid etc should be focused almost entirely on this relatively small group of countries, and its a matter of habit/culture that development assistance is not More...
Jan 02, 2011
Sherry
rated it:
This is one smart, caring and thoughtful man--and an economist to boot! I really enjoyed this read and it makes me even more excited about the possibility of maybe becoming a Peace Corps Country Director in Africa for this is where most of these billion live and to be closer to development there at the grassroots and with the frame Collier provides would be great. I love his advocacy for international charters and budget transparency. A few highlighted quotes as a sample of his work:
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" More...
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Dec 10, 2010
Jennifer
rated it:
Really fascinating book about why countries like Haiti, Somalia, Chad and the Central Asian "Stans" have failed to develop towards middle income status, whereas the rest of what we call the "developing world" has made real progress. Collier is better on the problems, I think, than on the solutions, but not bad on either. This is the best, clearest explanation I've ever read about why oil and mineral wealth can be so detrimental to a country's growth. (Because it crowds out
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Nov 25, 2010
Gordon
rated it:
There are many wonderful things about Powell's Bookstore in Portland, but the best thing that I personally found there this summer was this book. It's one of those rare books that has dramatically changed my thinking in some fundamental ways. If you have any interest in what to do about the poorest countries on the planet, this is the best thing on the subject that I've ever read. And all contained in a slim package of less than 200 pages.
As Collier says in the opening sentence of hi More...
As Collier says in the opening sentence of hi More...
May 21, 2010
Frank
rated it:
I thought this book might be an effective counterpoint to William Easterly's "The Elusive Quest for Growth," but instead of focusing on foreign aid, Collier focuses on the internal problems in poor countries that inhibit economic growth, and thus he largely complements rather than contradicts Easterly's analysis. This work is based on an entire career of rigorous scientific research, and Collier puts it to good use in a book that is both dense and fast-paced.
Collier has id More...
Collier has id More...
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Nov 17, 2009
Kerry
rated it: 
I read this for a book club. I will share the poem I wrote about the book:
Trapped at the bottom of the economic ladder
Per capita income, GDP, what does it matter?
A failing state after four years or more of stagnation,
Often includes bad governance, conflict & hyperinflation,
Natural resource shocks and bad neighbors can lead to marginalization
There is a reason tourists don't choose the Central African Republic as a destination.
Can somethi More...
Trapped at the bottom of the economic ladder
Per capita income, GDP, what does it matter?
A failing state after four years or more of stagnation,
Often includes bad governance, conflict & hyperinflation,
Natural resource shocks and bad neighbors can lead to marginalization
There is a reason tourists don't choose the Central African Republic as a destination.
Can somethi More...
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Jul 15, 2009
Laurel
rated it:
I read most of this book, but sadly couldn't finish it before it was time to return it to its owner. Frankly, I find economics very difficult to understand, and it's not made any easier to learn by all the politics and people with raging agendas who employ and corrupt it. I didn't really worry about parsing political BS with this book though, cause the man was speaking in science. I don't know how economic research is supposed to be conducted, but this guy definitely gives a crap about the scien
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Jan 10, 2011
King
rated it:
An ambitious piece of work. The Bottom Billion is the term Paul Collier, former Director of Research for the World Bank, uses to describe the 58 countries that have experienced zero economic growth since the 1970's. 58 countries compose the Bottom Billion. They include countries such as Bolivia, Haitii, Central Asia, N. Korea, Cambodia, Yemen, burma, Laos, Africa. While the rich countries get richer and the developing nations catch up, these countries have experienced an annual GDP per capita de
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May 20, 2009
Stefani
rated it:
I think Collier's major challenge here is to change the mindset of many of the investors and/or aid organizations that think the best approach to developing nations is to simply throw large sums of money at them, hoping for the best. What he suggests, with ample research to support his thesis, is that the money often times is mismanaged or embezzled by the corrupt government. A perfect example of this would be Chad; several million dollars in aid were given to Chad specifically for health care
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Jan 17, 2011
Nate
rated it:
Written in 2008, this book offers a fresh, honest, and well researched look at international development. Specifically, Dr. Collier separates out the states that exist in abject poverty and political failure from the rest of the developing world. He points out that the previous tendency to lump the whole of the developing world together gives us an inaccurate view of the situation. While there are many nations growing, there are some, at the very bottom, who are stuck. Dr. Collier does not just
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Nov 07, 2009
Windy2go
rated it:
This excellently written non-fiction book describes the author's theories of why the least-developed countries of the world are (and remain) the least-developed countries of the world. He uses statistics to sketch out specific scenarios (for example, the effect of democratic elections on the likelihood of a country experiencing another civil war versus a coup), and follows up with policy recommendations to improve the chances of these countries breaking the poverty and corruption cycles. Incit
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May 16, 2011
Koen
rated it:
At the heart of The Bottom Billion is a fairly uncontroversial claim: that it no longer makes sense, if it ever did, to regard the world as having an obscenely wealthy billion or so Westerners dominating the dirt-poor remainder, but that in light of amazing progress the term ``developing world'' is mostly no longer a condescending euphemism and that it makes more sense to regard the world as the wealthy and the ones well on their way to wealth on the one hand, and those not progressing towards i
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Oct 27, 2009
Sara
rated it:
The Bottom Billion
It is a good book and I recommend it to anyone. It is clear and well written but…
Ok, the title states: “why the poorest countries are failing and what it can be done”. Well, as Paul Collier says, this book aims to put forward a new agenda for the G8 and it is a lot about what the governments of the rich countries should do to help the forgotten bottom billion with their immense poverty.
… however I cannot help but think that it is much more than a More...
It is a good book and I recommend it to anyone. It is clear and well written but…
Ok, the title states: “why the poorest countries are failing and what it can be done”. Well, as Paul Collier says, this book aims to put forward a new agenda for the G8 and it is a lot about what the governments of the rich countries should do to help the forgotten bottom billion with their immense poverty.
… however I cannot help but think that it is much more than a More...
Feb 13, 2010
Brad
rated it:
Interesting read, but way too light on details and citations to satisfy an academic reader. Seems like, at least in terms of style and target audience, it could have been subtitled "Freakonomics for Development, minus the math and detailed case studies." Or something like that.
My knowledge of international trade is not sufficient to critique his argument one way or another, but I was pleased to see that a (very small) portion of his argument directly referenced and supporte More...
My knowledge of international trade is not sufficient to critique his argument one way or another, but I was pleased to see that a (very small) portion of his argument directly referenced and supporte More...
Feb 06, 2011
Sjo
rated it:
Excellent book taking a contrarian view on world poverty. The Bottom Billion are the billion people who are truly poor--Collier takes a very quantitive approach to find the route cause of poverty, and suggests that the world community differentiate this "bottom billion" and target aid programs aggressively. Civil wars, natural resources (oil, diamonds) tend to go hand in hand with poorest places on Earth. Some of Collier's remedies are radical, like recolonization..or whatever poli
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Oct 06, 2008
Thirsty_Mind
rated it:
Clear, specific, and based on tons of empirical data - everything that the development discourse is missing. Gives a very coherent plan for making the world's poorest less poor.
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Aug 05, 2011
A short and quick read. Nevertheless, it is a pretty good introduction to a variety of different development topics. I think it is an excellent introduction to the world of development and development economics. Collier does a good job in a short amount of space providing some of the basic and complex challenges facing the developing world. I particularly like how he brings emphasizes that not all less developed countries are the same, and how it is going to be increasingly difficult helping the
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Oct 09, 2010
Ed
rated it:
Collier recommends that failed states be invaded by multinational armed forces to rescue their citizens from further depredations by their leader or by violent rebels. To be taken seriously such a course of action must be supported by well documented and cogent arguments, neither of which are presented here.
This book is a decent primer that describes but doesn't really explain why states fail and why it is so difficult to turn them around but is no more than that.
One hi More...
This book is a decent primer that describes but doesn't really explain why states fail and why it is so difficult to turn them around but is no more than that.
One hi More...
Jul 20, 2009
Steven
rated it:
I've met many who have formed their opinions about why certain countries and regions are poor and what can be done about it. For the most part, these people can be divided into two camps, crazy leftists who blame the United States and capitalism for all of the world's problems and poverty, and crazy capitalists who believe that lack of education, infrastructure, and general laziness are the reasons for poor countries and regions. This book should be read by those in both camps so that they can
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Jan 22, 2011
Gdill
rated it:
This was recommended to me by my daughter who was once a macro-economics major. She loved every line of it and called it a "life-changer". I'd also bet a dollar Bill Clinton has read it. I can say, I did appreciate the message and hope the powers-that-be have read it. Personally, I didn't really see much the average Joe could do about the problem though. The author prefaced the book by saying he had tried to make it as readable as possible but it was still slow-going for me. That said,
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Feb 18, 2010
Pj
rated it:
Great book, especially for anybody interested in international development. Collier presents himself as a bit of an iconoclast and inveighs against the attitude of foreign aid as the preferred modality to increase the lot of the world's poorest. He makes an effective case for the importance of focusing on increased integration into the global market, and illustrated the successes of India and China, while lucidly describing the myriad challenges faced by Subsaharan African and poor Asian countr
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Oct 19, 2011
M
rated it:
Collier makes some fair points, but the book is marred by a patronizing, condescending tone, and an absence of "the grim apparatus of professional scholarship" (xii). There are several points he mentions that I would like to read more on - notably ethnic diversity and its relation to violence (which I vaguely recall reading about in Zuercher's Post Soviet Wars) - but without the footnotes and references, I can't find where Collier is coming from. Also, the repeated mea culpa of "t
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Nov 02, 2007
Alex
rated it:
Best of the 'how to save the poor' genre so far.
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Dec 31, 2010
Jamie
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I agree with the primary premise of this book, that there are a cluster of countries that aren't advancing or developing quickly enough. However, I think this book would have been more impactful if it focused on analyzing the history and context of each problem country and then developed specific recommendations on a country by country basis. Yes, this would shame certain countries (although I don't agree with the self-fulfilling prophesy concerns also raised in this book), but that is the poi
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