Book Review: "The Bottom Billion" by Paul Collier

The Botton Billion by Paul Collier outlines the economic situation facing the nations containing the poorest 1/6th of Earth's human population. By many accounts - see for example the first part of The End of Poverty by Jeff Sachs - these people face the difficult situation of having fallen off (or never been on) the global economic ladder. Collier outlines a number of 'traps' which have been major factors in the stagnation of the economies of these nations during a period of otherwise global growth: Conflict, Natural Resources, Landlocked with Bad Neighbors, and Bad Governance. He statistically correlates these factors to the economies (and thus the populations) of these countries "missing the boat" of globalization, which many other nations have ridden to growth (for example, many East Asian nations).

Collier then outlines a list of actions to be taken, by both the more developed world and the poor nations themselves, in order to help facilitate functioning economic activity in these nations and help them avoid future traps. He first considers foreign aid - the approach advocated in Sachs' book - and concludes it is a useful tool in certain situations (and to a certain extent), but far from a universal remedy (and subject to both the phenomena of diminishing returns and an currency problem known as Dutch disease).

Collier then considers instruments beyond aid to be utilized in assisting the poorest of the world: military interventions, laws and international charters, and trade policy. His suggestions for international charters, such as a charter for budgetary transparency, are particularly compelling as they provide specific political actions for which both domestic and international organizations can agitate.

Finally, Collier presents a call to action by citizens, NGOs, and governments across the globe. I argue that we ought to feel compelled to agitate for informed actions to be taken to assist those left off the global economic ladder. Reading this excellent, accessible, and none-too-long book (less that 200 pages!) is a great way to examine the current macro-economic situation faces by the world's poorest and consider some thoughtful possibilities on how to proceed from here.