Left Behind

A New Economics for Neglected Places

By: Paul Collier

Narrated by: Peter Noble

Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

The world-renowned economist offers a ground-breaking new vision for inclusive prosperity

Left behind places can be found in prosperous countries—from South Yorkshire, integral to the industrial revolution and now England’s poorest county, to Barranquilla, once Colombia’s portal to the Caribbean and now struggling. More alarmingly, the poorest countries in the world are diverging further from the rest of humanity. Why have these places fallen further behind? And what can we do about it?

World-renowned development economist Paul Collier has spent his life working in neglected communities. In this book he offers his candid diagnosis of why some regions and countries are falling further behind, and a new vision for how they can catch up. Collier lays the blame for widening inequality on stale economic orthodoxies that prioritize market forces and centralized bureaucracies like the UK Treasury. In contrast, a new wave of academic research has revealed the crucial role of collective learning, social capital and local agency in reversing decline and equalising life-chances.

Drawing on insights from social psychology, moral philosophy and behavioural economics, as well as a range of illuminating case studies, Collier shares a galvanizing vision for a more inclusive, prosperous world.

©2024 Paul Collier (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

Paul Collier shows how centralized authority and economic orthodoxy have hollowed out communities and deepened the divide between prosperous and neglected places. Ranging across politics, economics, and moral philosophy, he offers a compelling vision for renewal. This tour de force book points the way to a political economy of shared prosperity and common purpose’ (Michael J. Sandel, author of THE TYRANNY OF MERIT)

Being left behind is a curse on people, places, and even whole countries. Paul Collier brings his astonishing range of global experiences and interdisciplinary knowledge to forge a guidebook for catching up. He challenges the belief that the market is a trustworthy remedy and catalogues the many collective strategies that have worked in the past and can work again. Great wisdom lies herein (Angus Deaton, Nobel Laureate for Economic Sciences)

Paul Collier has written another brilliant, must-read book for anyone interested in human progress. I greatly enjoyed this book, you will too (Baroness Dambisa Moyo, author of DEAD AID)

Brilliant, orthodoxy-upending … this book is a compelling and practical manifesto for a better future. It is not only required reading but demands action (Andy Haldane, CEO of the RSA)

A wide-ranging account of why societies have gone so badly wrong in the early 21st century by emphasizing individualism, and an ambitious – but essential – agenda for tackling some of the problems (Professor Diane Coyle, author of GDP: A BRIEF BUT AFFECTIONATE HISTORY)

The misleading biology of "Selfish Genes" seemingly vindicated the dash to gross inequality. Collier's book reveals the extent of that damage in a wide variety of countries, and the many ways in which it may be fixed (Denis Noble FRS)

A MUST READ reminding all of us to hold onto hope, chronicling stories of communities that are progressing against the odds (Sylvana Quader Sinha, Member of the Council on Foreign Relations)