Professor Paul Collier

Professor of Economics, Department of Economics
Director, Centre for the Study of African Economies
Professorial Fellow of St Antony’s College

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.

Personal home page

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.

Publications

  • Bevan, David L., Paul Collier and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘Growth and equity in Nigeria and Indonesia’, in The Wealth of Nations in the Twentieth Century: the Policies and Institutional Determinants of Economic Development, ed. R. H. Myers, pp. 209–229. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1996.
  • Collier, Paul, John Hoddinott and Francis Teal, ‘Urban African labor markets and the policy credibility problem’, in African Development Perspectives Yearbook 1994–1995, ed. K. Wohlmuth and F. Messner. Hamburg: LIT Verlag, 1996.
  • Collier, Paul, ‘Living down the past: redesigning Nigerian institutions for economic growth’, African Affairs, Vol. 95 (380), pp. 325–350, 1996.
  • Collier, Paul, Patrick Guillaumont, Sylviane Guillaumont and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘L’avenir de Lomé: que peut l’Europe pour la croissance de l’Afrique?’, Politique Etrangère, Vol. 62, pp. 151–166, 1997.
  • Collier, Paul, Patrick Guillaumont, Sylviane Guillaumont and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘Redesigning conditionality’, World Development, Vol. 25, pp. 1399–1407, 1997.
  • Oyejide, T. Ademola, Ibrahim Elbadawi and Paul Collier, Regional Integration and Trade Liberalization in Sub-Saharan Africa. Vol. 1: Framework, Issues and Methodological Perspectives. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan, 1997.
  • Collier, Paul, Patrick Guillaumont, Sylviane Guillaumont and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘The future of Lomé: Europe’s role in African growth’, The World Economy, Vol. 20, pp. 285–305, 1997.
  • Collier, Paul, ‘The trade policy review of Uganda’, in The World Economy: Global Trade Policy Review, 1997.
  • Collier, Paul, ‘The failure of conditionality’, in Perspectives on Aid and Development, ed. C. Gwyn and J. Nelson. Washington, DC: ODC, 1997.
  • Collier, Paul and Sanjay Pradhan, ‘Economic aspects of the transition from civil war’, in Developing Uganda, ed. Holger Bernt Hansen and Michael Twaddle, pp. 19–37. Oxford: James Currey, 1998.
  • Botchwey, Kwesi, Paul Collier, Jan Gunning and Koichi Hamada, Report by a group of independent persons: external evaluation of the ESAF. Washington, DC: IMF, 1998.
  • Collier, Paul and Anke Hoeffler, ‘On economic causes of civil war’, Oxford Economic Papers, Vol. 50 (4), pp. 563–573, 1998.
  • Collier, Paul and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘Trade policy and regional integration: implications for the relations between Europe and Africa’, in Developing and Newly Industrialising Countries, ed. C. Milner, pp. 464–487. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 1998.
  • Collier, Paul, ‘Globalisation: implications for Africa’, in Trade Reforms and Regional Integration in Africa. Washington, DC: IMF, 1998. Collier, Paul, Jan Willem Gunning and associates, Trade Shocks in Developing Countries. Vol. 1: Africa, Vol. 2: Asia and Latin America, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
  • Collier, Paul, David Greenaway and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘Evaluating trade liberalization: a methodological  framework’, in Regional Integration and Trade Liberalization in Sub-Saharan Africa. Vol. 1: Framework, Issues and Methodological Perspectives, ed. T. Ademola Oyejide, Ibrahim Elbadawi and Paul Collier, pp. 306–352. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan and New York: St Martin’s Press, 1999.
  • Bigsten, Arne, Paul Collier, Stefan Dercon, Bernard Gauthier, Jan Willem Gunning, Jean Habarurema, Anders Isaksson, Remco Oostendorp, Cathy Pattillo, Måns Söderbom, Francis Teal and Albert Zeufack, ‘Exports of African  manufactures: macro policy and firm behaviour’, Journal of International Trade and Economic Development, Vol. 8 (1), pp. 53–71, 1999.
  • Bevan, David L. and Paul Collier, ‘The macroeconomics of the transition from African socialism’, in African Economies in Transition. Vol. 1: The Changing Role of the State, ed. Jo Ann Paulson, pp. 93–168. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan and New York: St Martin’s Press, 1999.
  • Collier, Paul and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘The impact of liberalisation on private investment’, in African Economies in Transition. Vol. 1: The Changing Role of the State, ed. Jo Ann Paulson, pp. 193–226. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan, New York: St Martin’s Press, 1999.
  • Bevan, David L., Paul Collier and Jan Willem Gunning. Nigeria and Indonesia, World Bank comparative studies. Political Economy of Poverty, Equity and Growth. Oxford: Oxford University Press (for the World Bank), 1999.
  • Collier, Paul and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘Exchange rate management in liberalising African economies’, in African Economies in Transition. Vol. 1: The Changing Role of the State, ed. Jo Ann Paulson, pp. 169–192. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan, New York: St Martin’s Press, 1999.
  • Collier, Paul and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘Trade shocks: theory and evidence’, in Trade Shocks in Developing Countries, ed. Paul Collier, Jan Willem Gunning and associates. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
  • Bevan, David L., Paul Collier, Norman Gemmell and David Greenaway, ‘Introduction’, in Trade and Fiscal Adjustment in Africa, ed. David L. Bevan, Paul Collier, Norman Gemmell and David Greenaway. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan, New York: St Martin’s Press, 1999.
  • Collier, Paul, ‘Learning from failure: the international financial institutions as agencies of restraint in Africa’, in The Self-Restraining State: Power and Accountability in New Democracies, ed. Andreas Schedler, Larry Diamond and Marc Plattner. Boulder, CO and London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1999.
  • Bigsten, Arne, Paul Collier, Stefan Dercon, Bernard Gauthier, Jan Willem Gunning, Anders Isaksson, Abena Oduro, Remco Oostendorp, Cathy Pattillo, Måns Söderbom, Michel Sylvain, Francis Teal and Albert Zeufack, ‘Investment by manufacturing firms in Africa: a four-country panel data analysis’, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 61, pp. 489–512, 1999.
  • Collier, Paul, ‘Aid “dependency”: a critique’, Journal of African Economies, Vol. 8 (4) Special Issue, pp. 528–545, 1999.
  • Collier, Paul and Ashish Garg, ‘On kin groups and wages in the Ghanaian labour market’, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 61 (2), pp. 133–152, 1999.
  • Bevan, David L., Paul Collier and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘Trade shocks in developing countries: consequences and policy responses’, in The Economics of Commodity Markets, ed. David Greenaway and W. Morgan, pp. 64–93. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 1999.
  • Ncube, Mthuli, Paul Collier, Jan Willem Gunning and K. Mlambo, ‘Regional integration and trade liberalization in Zimbabwe’, in Regional Integration and Trade Liberalization in Sub-Saharan Africa, ed. J. W. Gunning, B. Ndulu and A. Oyejide. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan and New York: St Martin’s Press, 1999.
  • Bevan, David L, Paul Collier and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘Anatomy of a temporary trade shock: the Kenyan coffee boom of 1976–9’, in Trade Shocks in Developing Countries, ed. P. Collier, J. W. Gunning and associates, pp. 64–93. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
  • Collier, Paul and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘Explaining African economic performance’, Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 37 (March), pp. 64–111, 1999.
  • Collier, Paul, Patrick Guillaumont, Sylviane Guillaumont and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘Reforming Stabex’, The World Economy, Vol. 22 (5), pp. 669–682, 1999.
  • Collier, Paul and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘Restraint, co-operation and conditionality in African trade policy’, in Regional Integration and Trade Liberalization in Sub-Saharan Africa, ed. David Greenaway, Ademola Oyejide and Benno Ndulu, pp. 74–99. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan, New York: St Martin’s Press, 1999.
  • Collier, Paul and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘Why has Africa grown slowly?’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 13 (3), pp. 3–22, 1999.
  • Collier, Paul and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘The IMF’s role in structural adjustment’, The Economic Journal, Vol. 109 (459), pp. 634–51, 1999.
  • Collier, Paul and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘The potential for restraint through international trade agreements’, in Investment and Risk in Africa, ed. Paul Collier and Catherine Pattillo, pp. 338–351. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan, New York: St Martin’s Press, 2000.
  • Collier, Paul and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘African trade liberalisations: alternative strategies for sustainable reform’, in Trade and Fiscal Adjustment in Africa, ed. David L. Bevan, Paul Collier, Norman Gemmell and David Greenaway, pp. 36–55. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan, New York: St Martin’s Press, 2000.
  • Collier, Paul and Jan Willem Gunning, ‘Portfolio responses to trade policy incredibility’, in Trade and Fiscal Adjustment in Africa, ed. David L. Bevan, Paul Collier, Norman Gemmell and David Greenaway, pp. 262–272. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan, New York: St Martin’s Press, 2000.
  • Collier, Paul, ‘Risk and investment in Africa’, in Investment and Risk in Africa, ed. Paul Collier and Catherine Pattillo. Basingstoke: Macmillan and New York: St Martin’s Press, 2000.
  • Bigsten, Arne, Paul Collier, Stefan Dercon, Marcel Fafchamps, Bernard Gauthier, Jan Willem Gunning, Anders Isaksson, Abena Oduro, Remco Oostendorp, Cathy Pattillo, Måns Söderbom, Francis Teal, Albert Zeufack and Simon Appleton, ‘Rates of return on physical and human capital in Africa’s manufacturing sector’, Economic Development and Cultural Change, Vol. 48 (4), pp. 801–827, 2000.
  • Collier, Paul, David L. Bevan, Norman Gemmell and David Greenaway (eds), Trade and Fiscal Adjustment in Africa, Basingstoke and London: Macmillan, New York: St Martin’s Press, 2000.
  • Collier, Paul and Catherine Pattillo, Investment and Risk in Africa Basingstoke: Macmillan and New York: St Martin’s Press, 2000.
  • Bigsten, Arne, Paul Collier, Stefan Dercon, Marcel Fafchamps, Bernard Gauthier, Jan Willem Gunning, Anders Isaksson, Abena Oduro, Remco Oostendorp, Cathy Pattillo, Måns Söderbom, Francis Teal and Albert Zeufack, ‘Contract flexibility and dispute resolution in African manufacturing’, Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 34 (10), pp. 1–37, 2000.
  • Collier, Paul, ‘Doing well out of war: an economic perspective’, in Greed and Grievance: Economic Agendas in Civil Wars, ed. M. Berdal and D. Malone. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2000.
  • Collier, Paul, ‘Conditionality, dependence and coordination: three current debates in aid policy’, in The World Bank: Structure and Policies, ed. C. L. Gilbert and D. Vines. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
  • Collier, Paul, ‘Africa’s comparative advantage’, in Industrial Development and Policy in Africa: Issues of De-Industrialisation and Development Strategy, ed. H. Jalilian, M. Tribe and J. Weiss. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2000.
  • Collier, Paul and Jan Willem Gunning, African Economic Performance: Is Marginalisation Inevitable? Oxford: Oxford University Press, forthcoming.
  • Collier, Paul, ‘The economic history of Africa, 1900–90’, in Encyclopedia of Africa, forthcoming.
  • Collier, Paul and D. Dollar, ‘Does Africa need a Marshall Plan?’ Cambridge Review of International Affairs, forthcoming.
  • Appleton, Simon, Paul Collier and John Mackinnon, ‘Gender, poverty and economic reform in Africa’, in Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, ed. A. Ali and E. Thorbecke, forthcoming 1999.
  • Collier, Paul, ‘Rebellion as a quasi-criminal activity’, Journal of Conflict Resolution, forthcoming 2000.
  • Bigombe, B., Paul Collier and N. Sambanis, ‘Policies for building post-conflict peace’, Journal of African Economies, forthcoming 2000.
  • Collier, Paul, ‘How to reduce corruption’, The African Development Review, forthcoming 2000.
  • Collier, Paul, ‘Ethnicity, politics and economic performance’, Economics and Politics, forthcoming 2000.