Paul Collier
In the bottom-billion account, a small group of countries remained stuck in poverty because of four distinct traps, from conflict to resource wealth, and standard aid alone could not break them.
Civil war operates as a self-sustaining poverty trap, where low income and growth increase conflict risks that subsequently destroy economic output and lock nations into recurring violence.
Resource wealth generates Dutch disease and commodity price volatility, causing non-resource export sectors to stagnate while failing to generate sustainable broader economic development.
Landlocked nations with poor cross-border infrastructure cannot easily access global trade routes and remain dependent on the economic growth and stability of neighboring countries.