From the bestselling author of The Bottom Billion, the fate of the poorest regions of the world-some of which exist in the richest nations-is examined. Using examples of the "left behind" regions, renowned development economist Paul Collier shows that centralized western economies have been the most ineffective to alleviate poverty--even if nationally the country seems to be growing.

In Left Behind, Collier examines how the assumption that any impoverished area will find a way to progress through market forces has devastated nations all over the world.

With keen insight, he draws lessons from such disparate fields as behavioral psychology, evolutionary biology, and moral philosophy to explain how we can adapt to the needs of individual economies in order to build a brighter and fairer global future.