In response to theories urging military intervention, Opoku points out that Western officials and troops themselves have a dubious moral record, citing as an example UN troops who commit sexual violence (2009, 135).The second trap is the presence of natural resources like oil and diamonds, all of which encourage rent seeking and corruption. Even some rebel groups, like the Taliban, were initially supported by Western nations. Arms control and illegal trade involve developed states as key players. Then post-conflict states should minimize military spending to prevent another military takeover.While Collier describes the conflict trap well, he misses the point that many conflicts are directly or indirectly financed by Western nations. Rapid reaction forces must pre-empt conflict escalation. In response, Collier recommends military intervention to restore order and maintain post-conflict peace. This is especially significant as 73 percent of bottom billion citizens have experienced civil war. On average, civil war costs a country and its neighbors $64 billion. TrapsCollier cites conflict as the first trap impeding developing countries from economic growth. Finally, Collier illustrates points through describing discussions he had with African officials rather than using broader observations or speaking with people on the ground about their experiences (Chabal 2008). Moreover, much of his data was new or unpublished. Collier is transparent about his data and studies, but his findings are mainly correlation, not causation. Unlike others, like Diamond and Acemoglu, who consider geography and institutional context over time, Collier’s neglect of the past may be the biggest weakness in The Bottom Billion.Methodologically Collier’s book has been criticized for representing solely the “voices” of Anglophone economists like Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz, whereas the book would have benefited from including the perspectives of scholars from developing countries like Amartya Sen (Mittelman 2007 Lipton 2008, 754).
However, Collier’s main shortcomings emerge in neglecting the historical context, the role of Western states in the traps and solutions, and methodological gaps in statistics. Overall, his book makes for a broad and strong piece.
In proposing policy, Collier takes a middle-of-the-road approach between those who support aid, free trade, military intervention, and international norms.
In a straightforward manner, Collier argues that countries where the poorest billion people live struggle because of four traps: conflict, natural resources, being landlocked, and bad governance. Paul Collier’s book The Bottom Billion convincingly explains why the poorest countries are seemingly stuck at low levels of development, and prescribes policies to tackle this stagnation.
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