The Bottom Billion

Global poverty is falling quite rapidly for about eighty percent of the world. The real crisis lies in a group of about 50 failing states, the bottom billion, whose problems defy traditional approaches to alleviating poverty. The causes of failure include civil war, dependence on the export of natural resources, and bad governance. Standard solutions do not work against these traps, Collier writes; aid is often ineffective, and globalization can actually make matters worse. What the bottom billion need, he argues, is a bold new plan supported by the Group of Eight industrialized nations. In The Bottom Billion, Collier offers real hope for solving one of the great humanitarian crises facing the world today.