UNDESA DISD 3d ago

This webinar was organized by the Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). Every continent has poor or middle-income countries within which wide spatial inequalities are a human tragedy, a cause of political tensions, and an economic loss. In this webinar, Professor Collier will draw on his recent book, “Left Behind”. It argues that once a region starts to fall behind – for whatever reason, psychological and economic forces often drag it down further into a spiral of anger and despair. These adverse spirals can be countered, but it needs not only active policies but a change of mindset: places can be helped to see their distinctive features not as weaknesses which doom them to decline, but as opportunities to celebrate and build on. Professor Collier will give practical examples from around the world of how both good leadership and social movements have transformed once-poor places. These examples can have implications for how the United Nations system can leverage its existing resources to reduce spatial inequalities.