Paul Collier
Areas of activity: governance in low-income countries, especially the political economy of democracy, economic growth in Africa, economics of civil war, aid, globalisation and poverty.
Brief biography
I research the causes and consequences of civil war; the effects of aid; and the problems of democracy in low-income and natural-resource-rich societies. In addition to the usual academic outputs, my work has had substantial policy impact. In the past year I have been the senior adviser to Blair’s Commission on Africa; have addressed the General Assembly of the UN; given a seminar at 10 Downing St.; and been invited to meet with Condoleezza Rice on her recent UK visit.
I work on a wide range of macroeconomic, microeconomic and political economy topics concerned with Africa. Within macroeconomics I have focused on external shocks, exchange rate and trade policies. I completed the first ever external review of IMF operations for the Board of the IMF (with Professors Gunning and Hamada, and Dr. Botchwey). Within microeconomics I have focused on labour and financial markets, and on rural development, on which I've written three books and many articles. Within political economy, I have worked on the process of policy reform, and have also published a series of articles on `restraining the state'. I am a Professor Associate of CERDI, Université d'Auvergne; Fellow of the CEPR, London; and was Director of the Development Research group at the World Bank (from April 1998 to April 2003). I hold a Distinction Award from Oxford University, and have won the Edgar Graham Prize.
