Paul Collier is Professor of Economics and Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University. He took a five-year public service leave between 1998 and 2003, during which he time he was Director of the Research Development Department at the World Bank. He is also a professeur invité at CERDI, Universitéd’Auverge, and at Paris 1.
In 2008, Mr. Collier was awarded a CBE for services to scholarship and development. He is the author of “The Bottom Billion,” which in 2008 won the Lionel Gelber, Arthur Ross and Corine prizes, and in May 2009, was the joint winner of the Estoril Global Issues Distinguished Book prize. His second book, “Wars, Guns and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places,” was published in March 2009, and his latest book, “The Plundered Planet: How to Reconcile Prosperity with Nature,” was published in May 2010. His research covers the causes and consequences of civil war, the effects of aid, and the problems of democracy in low-income and natural-resource rich societies.
Mr. Collier is currently Advisor to the Strategy and Policy Department of the IMF and Advisor to the Africa Region Department of the World Bank. He also advised the British government on its recent White Paper on economic development policy, and has been writing a monthly column for The Independent as well as contributed to The New York Times, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.
