19. Plight of the Bottom Billion

Capitalism: Success, Crisis and Reform (PLSC 270)

In a videotaped lecture, Professor Rae discusses problems with using gross domestic product (GDP) as a measure for societal wellbeing. For example, GDP fails to capture wealth inequality and socially undesirable conditions that can increase GDP. He then touches on some of the "traps" presented in Paul Collier's book, The Bottom Billion, that are keeping the poorest of the developing countries mired in poverty. In the second half of lecture, a video of Paul Collier is shown in which the author urges the developed world to take as a model America's reconstruction package to post-WWII Europe. According to Collier, the developed world must rethink its aid and trade policies toward the developing world. Collier also discusses the relationship between democracy and the so-called "resource curse," and how the rich world can create institutions to support reformers in the poorest countries.

00:00 - Chapter 1. Introduction and Class Agenda
00:31 - Chapter 2. Video: Professor Douglas W. Rae on Paul Collier's "The Bottom Billion"
29:48 - Chapter 3. Video: Paul Collier on "The Bottom Billion"

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses

This course was recorded in Fall 2009.