The Bottom Billion

From the New York Times, March 22nd book review of Wars, Guns, and Votes.

A professor of economics at Oxford, Paul Collier examines the governments of what, in an earlier book, he callef the "bottom billion" -- the world's 58 most impoverished countries. He undertakes this daunting task by summerizing an array of sophisticated economic and social science research, all in a folksy, accessible style. For those who want statistical chapter and verse, he refers readers to his web site.