Exam #4 - Questions from The Bottom Billion

The Bottom Billion Name Institution Page Break The Bottom Billion 1. “Traps and the Countries Caught in Them” identifies four “traps” in addition to the “development trap” and “the health trap.” What does the author identify these traps to be? Define what each “trap” would be. The author identifies four traps, which he claims have been accorded minimal attention. The traps include the conflict trap, the natural resource trap, the trap of being landlocked with bad neighbors, and the trap of bad governance in a small country. The conflict trap is attributed to the increased instability as a result of persistent civil wars and other occurrences such as coups, all of which cost the countries a lot through the massive loss of lives and property destruction during the armed conflicts (Collier, 2008). The natural resource trap implies that such countries are unable to conduct exploration to discover valuable resources due to the high poverty levels, thus resulting in cyclical poverty. Being landlocked with bad neighbors cripples the chances of any country to succeed due to the absence of good neighbors to cooperate with, as in the case of central Africa where fighting in the Central African Republic adversely affects the success of Burkina Faso. Finally, the trap of bad governance in a small country exposes the countries to the massive deterioration of their affairs as autocratic and corrupt governments misuse national resources, leaving their citizens in poverty and undue suffering while the ruling families and their friends enjoy the limited wealth of their countries (Collier, 2008). 2. Has the gap between the bottom billion and the rest of the developing world always been there, or has it come about because the bottom billion has been trapped? The gap between the bottom billion and the rest of the developing world is not a natural phenomenon that has always been there, but an outcome of the traps caging the bottom billion. For instance, while the developing world has been characterized by proper governance which has resulted in economic and social progress, the bottom million's governments have served as primary cancer for their economies and social welfare due to such vices as corruption (Collier, 2008). Moreover, the resource trap has held hostage the progress of the bottom billion since their economies are too weak to identify or exploit their resources. Progress in the bottom billion has also been hindered by the conflict trap which is difficult to escape and prevents development while destroying the already existing “small” developments, unlike the peaceful developing world which is busy in development while the bottom billion is at war and peace settlements. The issue of bad neighbors has also blocked the development paths in the bottom billion as the countries lack such elements as regional trade partners; instead, the bad neighbors engage in such activities as drugs and arms smuggli...

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