The Plundered Planet

The Plundered Planet

How to Reconcile Prosperity With Nature

Summary

In The Plundered Planet: How to Reconcile Prosperity with Nature Paul Collier proposes a radical and often counter-intuitive rethink of international policy in order to combat global poverty and environmental devastation.

How can we help poorer countries become richer without harming the planet? Is there a way of reconciling prosperity with nature?

World-renowned economist Paul Collier offers smart, surprising and above all realistic answers to this dilemma. Steering a path between the desires of unchecked profiteering and the romantic views of environmentalists, he explores creative ways to deal with poverty, overpopulation and climate change - showing that the solutions needn't cost the earth.

'A practical handbook for ending world poverty. He wants us to read the evidence, not wear slogans on our T-shirts'
  Sunday Times

'Collier and his team have researched the detail ... If you want to help the world, stem your bleeding heart and tell your broker to switch your funds to Emerging Markets (Africa)'
  Sunday Telegraph

'An intriguing take on how western nations can stop poor countries rich in resources from being exploited'
  Observer

'Anyone looking for a primer on how best to exploit the riches of nature could do worse than reading this introduction to the problem'
  Economist

'Paul Collier must be read if one is to begin to understand the most vital contemporary arguments'
  Bob Geldof

Paul Collier is Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University and a former director of Development Research at the World Bank. In addition to the award-winning The Bottom Billion, he is the author of Wars, Guns, and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places.

Reviews

  • A path-breaking book
    George Soros

About the author

Paul Collier

Paul Collier is Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government. He is the author of The Future of Capitalism (Handesblatt Prize) and The Bottom Billion (Arthur Ross Prize) both widely translated. He works with governments and communities around the world. A communitarian, he was awarded the Adam Smith Prize by Glasgow’s Philosophical Society (2023) and the Global Citizenship Award by Belgium’s cooperative movement (2018).
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