Paul Collier
Encyclopedia
Paul Collier, CBE
is a Professor of Economics, Director for the Centre for the Study of African Economies
at The University of Oxford
and Fellow of St Antony's College. From 1998 – 2003 he was the director of the Development Research Group of the World Bank
.
where he attended King Edward VII School
. He holds a Distinction Award from Oxford University, and in 1988 he was awarded the Edgar Graham Book Prize for the co-written Labour and poverty in rural Tanzania: Ujamaa
and rural development in the United Republic of Tanzania.
The Bottom Billion
: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It (ISBN 0195311450), has been compared to Jeffrey Sachs
's The End of Poverty
and William Easterly
's The White Man's Burden, two influential books, which like Collier's book, discuss the pros and cons of developmental aid to developing countries.
His 2010 book The Plundered Planet is encapsulated in his formulas: Nature - Technology + Regulation = Starvation, Nature + Technology - Regulation = Plunder, and Nature + Technology + Regulation (Good Governance) = Prosperity. The book describes itself as an attempt at a middle way between the extremism
of "Ostriches" (Denialism
, particularly climate change denial
) and "Environmental Romanticism" (for example, anti-genetically modified organisms movements in Europe). The book is about sustainable management
in relation with the geo-politics of global warming
, with an attempt to avoid a global tragedy of the commons
, with prime example of overfishing
. In it he builds upon a legacy of the economic psychology of greed and fear
, from early Utilitarianism
(Jeremy Bentham) to more recently the Stern Review
.
He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours. He is a patron of the Media Legal Defence Initiative
.
In 2010, he was named by Foreign Policy
magazine to its list of top global thinkers.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
is a Professor of Economics, Director for the Centre for the Study of African Economies
Centre for the Study of African Economies
The Centre for the Study of African Economies has been undertaking research on Africa since 1986, and is thought to be one of the largest concentrations of academic economists and social scientists working on Africa outside the continent itself. It is part of the Department of Economics under the...
at The University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and Fellow of St Antony's College. From 1998 – 2003 he was the director of the Development Research Group of the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
.
Life
Collier is a specialist in the political, economical and developmental predicaments of poor countries. He was brought up in SheffieldSheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
where he attended King Edward VII School
King Edward VII School (Sheffield)
King Edward VII School is a secondary school and language college located in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. KES, named after the reigning monarch, was formed in 1905 when Wesley College was merged with Sheffield Royal Grammar School on the site of the former on Glossop Road...
. He holds a Distinction Award from Oxford University, and in 1988 he was awarded the Edgar Graham Book Prize for the co-written Labour and poverty in rural Tanzania: Ujamaa
Ujamaa
Ujamaa was the concept that formed the basis of Julius Nyerere's social and economic development policies in Tanzania just after it gained independence from Britain in 1961...
and rural development in the United Republic of Tanzania.
The Bottom Billion
The Bottom Billion
The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It is a 2007 book by Paul Collier, Professor of Economics at Oxford University, exploring the reasons why impoverished countries fail to progress despite international aid and support...
: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It (ISBN 0195311450), has been compared to Jeffrey Sachs
Jeffrey Sachs
Jeffrey David Sachs is an American economist and Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University. One of the youngest economics professors in the history of Harvard University, Sachs became known for his role as an adviser to Eastern European and developing country governments in the...
's The End of Poverty
The End of Poverty
The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time is a 2005 book by American economist Jeffrey Sachs. It was a New York Times bestseller....
and William Easterly
William Easterly
William Russell Easterly is an American economist, specializing in economic growth and foreign aid. He is a Professor of Economics at New York University, joint with Africa House, and Co-Director of NYU’s Development Research Institute. He is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings...
's The White Man's Burden, two influential books, which like Collier's book, discuss the pros and cons of developmental aid to developing countries.
His 2010 book The Plundered Planet is encapsulated in his formulas: Nature - Technology + Regulation = Starvation, Nature + Technology - Regulation = Plunder, and Nature + Technology + Regulation (Good Governance) = Prosperity. The book describes itself as an attempt at a middle way between the extremism
Extremism
Extremism is any ideology or political act far outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards...
of "Ostriches" (Denialism
Denialism
Denialism is choosing to deny reality as a way to avoid an uncomfortable truth: "[it] is the refusal to accept an empirically verifiable reality...
, particularly climate change denial
Climate change denial
Climate change denial is a term used to describe organized attempts to downplay, deny or dismiss the scientific consensus on the extent of global warming, its significance, and its connection to human behavior, especially for commercial or ideological reasons...
) and "Environmental Romanticism" (for example, anti-genetically modified organisms movements in Europe). The book is about sustainable management
Sustainable management
Sustainable management takes the concepts from sustainability and synthesizes them with the concepts of management. Sustainability has three branches: the environment, the needs of present and future generations, and the economy...
in relation with the geo-politics of global warming
Politics of global warming
The politics of global warming have involved corporate lobbying, funding of special interest groups and public relations campaigns by the oil and coal industries which have affected policy decisions and legislation worldwide...
, with an attempt to avoid a global tragedy of the commons
Tragedy of the commons
The tragedy of the commons is a dilemma arising from the situation in which multiple individuals, acting independently and rationally consulting their own self-interest, will ultimately deplete a shared limited resource, even when it is clear that it is not in anyone's long-term interest for this...
, with prime example of overfishing
Overfishing
Overfishing occurs when fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptable level. This can occur in any body of water from a pond to the oceans....
. In it he builds upon a legacy of the economic psychology of greed and fear
Greed and fear
Greed and fear are supposed, together with herd instinct, to be the three main emotional motivators of stock markets and business behavior, and one of the cause of bull markets, bear markets and business cycles.- From a market saying to an academic research topic :...
, from early Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes the overall "happiness", by whatever means necessary. It is thus a form of consequentialism, meaning that the moral worth of an action is determined only by its resulting outcome, and that one can...
(Jeremy Bentham) to more recently the Stern Review
Stern Review
The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change is a 700-page report released for the British government on 30 October 2006 by economist Nicholas Stern, chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and also chair of the Centre...
.
He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours. He is a patron of the Media Legal Defence Initiative
Media Legal Defence Initiative
The Media Legal Defence Initiative is a non-governmental organization established in 2008 to provide legal assistance to journalists and news media organizations, support training in media law and promote the exchange of information, litigation tools and strategies for lawyers working on media...
.
In 2010, he was named by Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel.Originally, the magazine was a quarterly...
magazine to its list of top global thinkers.
Research Topics
- Governance in low-income countries, especially the political economy of democracyDemocracyDemocracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
- Economic growth in Africa
- Economics of civil war, aid, globalisation and poverty
- The greed vs grievanceGreed versus grievanceThe phrase "greed versus grievance" or "greed and grievance" refer to the two baseline arguments put forward by scholars of armed conflict on the causes of civil war, though the argument has been extended to other forms of war....
debate in international relations
Selected Publications
- The Plundered Planet: Why We Must, and How We Can, Manage Nature for Global Prosperity (2010) ISBN 978-0195395259
- Labour and poverty in rural Tanzania: UjamaaUjamaaUjamaa was the concept that formed the basis of Julius Nyerere's social and economic development policies in Tanzania just after it gained independence from Britain in 1961...
and rural development in the United Republic of Tanzania - The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About ItThe Bottom BillionThe Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It is a 2007 book by Paul Collier, Professor of Economics at Oxford University, exploring the reasons why impoverished countries fail to progress despite international aid and support...
(ISBN 0195311450) - (with Anke Hoeffler) ‘On economic causes of civil war’ Oxford Economic Papers, vol 50 iss 4, (1998), pp 563–573.
- (with Anke Hoeffler) ‘Greed and grievance in civil war’ Oxford Economic Papers, vol 56 iss 4, (2004), pp 563–595.
- (with Lisa Chauvet and Haavard Hegre) 'The Security Challenge in Conflict-Prone Countries', Copenhagen ConsensusCopenhagen ConsensusCopenhagen Consensus is a project that seeks to establish priorities for advancing global welfare using methodologies based on the theory of welfare economics. It was conceived and organized by Bjørn Lomborg, the author of The Skeptical Environmentalist and the then director of the Danish...
2008 Challenge Paper, (2008). - Wars, Guns and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places, HarperHarper (publisher)Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins.-History:James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishing business J. & J. Harper in 1817. Their two brothers, Joseph Wesley Harper and Fletcher Harper, joined them...
, (March 2009)
Video
- The Royal Economic Society's 2006 Annual Public Lecture, by Coller
- Interview with Fareed Zakaria on Foreign Exchange
- TED Conference, Paul Collier on "The Bottom Billion"
- TED Conference, Paul Collier's new rules for rebuilding a broken nation
Press
- Review of The Plundered Planet by the Financial TimesFinancial TimesThe Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
- Review of the Bottom Billion by the Financial Times
- Review of the Bottom Billion in The New York Times
- Review of The Bottom Billion by William Easterly in The Lancet
- Samuel Grove, "The Bottom of the Barrel: A Review of Paul Collier's The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done about It."
External links
- Paul Collier's home page at Oxford University
- Links to downloadable research papers on Africa, Aid, Conflict, Political Economy and other topics
- Interview with Paul Collier by J. Tyler Dickovick
- Interview with the Oxonian Review in March 2009
- Video of recent talk at Oxford University - "The Bottom Billion"
- TED Talks: Paul Collier shares 4 ways to help the "bottom billion" at TEDTED (conference)TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
in 2008