The Plundered Planet and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more


or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
Trade in Yours
For a £0.40 Gift Card
Trade in
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
Start reading The Plundered Planet on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

The Plundered Planet: How to Reconcile Prosperity With Nature [Paperback]

Paul Collier
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
RRP: £9.99
Price: £6.89 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £3.10 (31%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 3 left in stock (more on the way).
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £5.99  
Paperback £6.89  
Trade In this Item for up to £0.40
Trade in The Plundered Planet: How to Reconcile Prosperity With Nature for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.40, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Learn more

Book Description

25 Aug 2011

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.


Frequently Bought Together

The Plundered Planet: How to Reconcile Prosperity With Nature + The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It + The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill And So Little Good
Price For All Three: £20.67

Buy the selected items together


Product details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin (25 Aug 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0141042141
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141042145
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 1.7 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 33,475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

Review

A path-breaking book (George Soros )

Paul Collier has written with great insight about the prospects of the bottom billion. In The Plundered Planet, he addresses himself to the complex opportunities, challenges and risks in managing the planet's natural resources. The bottom billion have a huge stake and an important role in the outcomes. Collier helps us see these issues through their eyes (Michael Spence, Winner Of The Nobel Prize In Economics )

Read this book (Sir Nicholas Stern, Author Of The Stern Review On The Economics Of Climate Change )

Original, important and always thought-provoking. I learned a lot (Tim Harford, Author Of The Undercover Economist And The Logic Of Life )

Collier's arguments are compassionate and convincing, and his straightforward explanations of economic principles are leavened with humor and impressively accessible (Publishers Weekly )

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

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 )

About the Author

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.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Search inside this book:


Customer Reviews

3 star
0
2 star
0
1 star
0
4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A call to arms for ethical economics 4 Mar 2012
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Professor Collier is one of the most progressive thinkers in development economics. His earlier book `The Bottom Billion' was an inspired piece of intellectual virtuosity. His follow-up doesn't disappoint.

Putting to use his razor-sharp economics brain, Professor Collier cuts through the sea of romanticized preconceptions and prejudices surrounding development economics. He has no time for self-interested lobbies or the fluffy middle-class love affair with peasant agriculture. The book is written with two basic ethical principles in mind:
1) the world's poorest must be lifted up; and
2) civilisation must be made sustainable.
Almost everyone will find some of their positions exploded (I certainly did).

The first section lays out his ethical principles. The second (long, technical) section deals with the chain of decision-making required for African countries to orchestrate an economic transformation through resource exploitation. The final sections deal with the big-picture environmental issues of the day.

Some key points
- International fishing rights need to be owned, otherwise international fisheries will be destroyed
- All subsidies to the fishing industry should be ended as soon as possible.
- A carbon tax is by far the most economically rational solution to climate change
- The key players who might block such a deal are Russia and the Middle East (i.e. the carbon exporters), not China and the USA
- The world needs more commercial agriculture on the Brazilian model, not less
- America should drop its fantasy of achieving energy independence through home-gown biofuels
- Europe should lift its damaging and anti-progressive ban on GM
- Organic food is a rich-world luxury, not a tool for feeding the poor

Telling statistic: until the GM ban in 1996, European grain yields tracked those of the US. Since 1996 they've fallen behind by 1-2% per year. As Europe is a big grain producer this is a major contributing factor to higher food commodity prices.

Quote: "The idea that fishermen should get the rights to scarce fish for free is analogous to oil companies getting the rights to oil for free."

Professor Collier points out that in this networked age, people power will prove decisive to more enlightened public policy. Have a look at NaturalResourceCharter[DOT]org. A brilliant book - anyone interested in a better, more sustainable, world would do well to absorb its lessons.

Peter Baker
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Top marks for originality 24 Jan 2012
Format:Paperback
A very original and very well written book. Incredible how a subject treated so often in writing can be given a whole new angle. The best way to help the poorest countries is most likely not the various popular and ubiquitious types of human development projects but perhaps rather e.g. prospecting aid which - unfortunately - has little public appeal and goes up against vested interests of multinational mining conglomerates.
Importantly, also a simple and convincing description of economic theory dealing with socalled "global commons" such as international fisheries and carbon emissions. Yet also a problem in that category: Why not admit that the same theory applies equally well to child birth and population growth? Not even a passing mention. I suspect the author consider the subject too controversial and rather than writing some gobbledygook he knows is false, he choose to ignore it.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars a vital development topic 30 Jan 2013
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
As Paul Collier points out, on the basis of thorough economic analysis, natural resources such as oil, and mineral deposits have the potential to transform the economies of poor countries, provided they are well managed. Poor governance and management mean that most often they are not used for the benefit of future generations, though there are a few positive examples. Professor Collier makes suggestions for how countries can be helped to make better decisions on how the resources are exploited, how greater benefits can be obtained by better deals with exploration companies and what can be done to improve transparency. As he points out, the potential benefits to many countries in Africa far outweigh those from overseas development assistance (ODA), though ODA could provide assistance in improving the governance and management processes.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges