The Bottom Billion

The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It by Paul Collier. New York: OUP, 2007. 205 p., $28.00

The world is climbing out of poverty. Is it leaving anyone behind? In this insightful, concise, and simple book Paul Collier says yes. Using his own research and that of his colleague Anke Hoeffler and others, Collier looks at the plight of the bottom billion people in the world who have actually regressed even as other countries have broken out of poverty in the last three decades. The former World Bank economist identifies four traps that have prevented certain countries from progressing: conflict, natural resources, being landlocked, and poor governance. After empirically demonstrating these traps, he briefly examines current instruments of assistance utilized by the international community: aid, military intervention, international law, and trade. His conclusion? We need a more innovative mix of policy instruments to help rescue the bottom sixth of humanity.

Collier's analysis is refreshing for its frankness and novel perspective. I appreciate his honest assessment that there is very little we can do for countries that have arbitrary, landlocked boundaries. As disheartening as this analysis may be, it is reality. Until we do more to help the neighbors of such countries, there is little we can directly do for them. His promotion of strategic military intervention under the right conditions is brave in the post-Iraq world. And his honest discussion of the benefits and limits of aid is very helpful coming from a World Bank economist.

My biggest concerns with the book are twofold. First, how do we navigate the significant political challenges of implementing change for the bottom billion before a catastrophic crisis? From an economic standpoint, the suggestions presented in the book are convincing, but from a political standpoint they appear nigh unimplementable. Second, to what extent does India and China skew any discussion of poverty? The vast majority of the "developing world" resides in one of these two countries. Are the developing countries simply riding on the coattails of these behemoths? Can we really address poverty without great policy coordination with their respective governments? These are perhaps more political questions, and as such, Collier is less equipped to answer them. Thus, the book feels like only the first half of a more comprehensive work.