A new book by faculty member Paul Collier explores places around the world that have been left behind in terms of economic growth, development and opportunities – 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. 

Left Behind: A New Economics for Neglected Places (Allen Lane, 2024) highlights that the gap between successful and unsuccessful places is growing rather than shrinking – and offers ideas on how to fix it. A world-renowned development economist, Paul has also turned his attention to the UK in recent years. Britain’s “wasteful and brutal regional divide” is devastating, he says: “In terms of life chances, Britain has become one of the most unequal countries in the world.” He is critical of the unusually centralised nature of UK power, and compares it to the failure by aid agencies and others to empower whole countries that have been left behind, such as Somalia, where he argues that outsiders have tried to dictate solutions. 

However, Paul brings together case studies of recovery from around the world to argue that renewal is achievable through a combination of collective learning, moral leadership and local empowerment. “The overall message of Left Behind is joyful: communities long left behind can catch up.”