Collier in Melanesia: A discussion of Paul Collier's 'The bottom billion: Why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it'

Abstract

Former director of development research at the World Bank and now Professor of Economics and Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University, Paul Collier has written a broad and brave book on why one sixth of the world’s population suffer long-term poverty and poor government, what can be done about it, and why it is in the interests of all nations to do something.1 Collier’s aim it to identify the ‘traps’ that ensnare and hold poor nations and the policies that are most likely to lead to their escape. His immediate concern is not with the millions of poor within rich and middle-level nations – the problems of opportunity and distribution. He is defining questions and presenting answers at the broadest level on other major issues of our time: how do citizens in the failed and faltering states begin to turn them into efficient and fair nation-states, and how do those in developed nations, multi-national organizations and non-government agencies transfer material and non-material aid to under-developed nations so that it has a measurable, beneficial effect. The quotes from the relevant and eminent on the back cover of The Bottom Billions make high claims: ‘The best nonfiction book so far this year’ (Nicholas Kristof), ‘Path-breaking’ (George Soros), and ‘Should be compulsory reading’ (The Economist). Given the topic, the recommendations, and its immediate relevance to international aid policy and practice, this is a book worth close examination. In a study that draws its evidence from across the globe and offers analysis and answers for all donor nations, multinational agencies and recipients, it is inevitable that readers will check for accuracy against those bits of the globe familiar to them. So what does Collier say about Australia and the region?