Paul Collier

Professor of Economics and Director, Centre for the Study of African Economies, Oxford University

Paul Collier is Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University. He researches the causes and consequences of civil war, the effects of aid and the problems of democracy in low-income and natural-resource-rich societies.

From April 1998 to April 2003, he was the director of development research at the World Bank and has been the advisor to the British government’s Commission on Africa.

Mr. Collier is one of the world’s leading experts on African economies and is the author of “Breaking the Conflict Trap,” among other books.

Within macroeconomics, he has focused on external shocks, exchange rate and trade policies. He completed the first ever external review of IMF operations for the Board of the IMF (with Professors Gunning and Hamada, and Dr. Botchwey).

Within microeconomics, Mr. Collier has focused on labour and financial markets, and on rural development, on which he has written three books and many articles.

Within political economy, he has worked on the process of policy reform, and has also published a series of articles on “restraining the state.”

Mr. Collier is a Professor Associate of CERDI, Université d’Auvergne and a Fellow of the CEPR, London. He holds a Distinction Award from Oxford University and has won the Edgar Graham Prize.