Haiti has chosen to become a poor country?

Due to the ongoing protests and depreciation of the Haitian gourde, this blogger decided to read Etzer Emile's Haiti has chosen to become a poor country: The 20 reasons that prove it. Emile's short book focuses on the period after the fall of the Duvalier regime, which helps condense the text, could also cause readers to overlook the exceptional violence, corruption, and economic malaise made by decisions under the dictatorship. It's difficult to understand the socio-economic crises of Haiti after 1986 without taking into account the uniquely negative impact of the Duvaliers. Nonetheless, Emile is clearly aware of the antiquity of the several problems shaping Haitian economic underdevelopment, but using data from the post-Duvalier period illustrates how Haiti continues to reproduce poverty while other countries in the Latin America and Caribbean  region have reduced it. 

Emile argues from a pro-market perspective that promotes productive activity, protective tariffs, and educational reform. He does mention several differing definitions of poverty by theorists, but anyone expecting Marxist interpretations or what this blog would consider a neoclassical approach of Lundahl will be disappointed. Instead, one can see elements of past Haitian economic theorists in Emile, particularly Edmond Paul. The work of scholar David Nicholls, who wrote extensively about Edmond Paul, Janvier, Auguste Magloire and others who, over 100 years ago, argued in favor of economic reforms, industrialization, self-sufficiency, etc., shows how long Haitians have debated the economic troubles of the country. 

Emile's work, especially in his concern for educational reforms geared toward entrepreneurialism,  the sciences, and mathematics, resembles these past reformers. He even appears to echo some of them in his calls for educational reform that pushes Haitian youth towards business, math, and science instead of things like poetry or managing wealth over creating it. Clearly, Haitian graft, social conflict, corruption, and dependency have deep roots. Consequently, a thesis on Haitian underdevelopment must adopt a larger time frame, perhaps akin to Leslie Péan's work on the political economy of corruption.

However, where I take issue with Emile's book is the somewhat arbitrariness of 20 distinct reasons, as well as the focus on the post-1986 period. Many of the 20 reasons are hardly unique to Haiti, such as the middle-class living above its means. They are not unique to Haiti since they're common in places like the US or Canada. Indeed, elite opposition to raising wages is also common in the US, so the Haitian upper-class are not alone. Corruption, like monopolistic businesses or corporations, are also not limited to Haiti or the 'Global South.' 

Nor do I find irresponsible behavior towards the environment to be exceptionally Haitian. Moreover, Emile does not address the concerns about a potential mining industry in Haiti bearing negative consequences for the environment, despite acknowledging past bad deals with SEDREN or Reynolds. Furthermore, while it is certainly the fault of Haitian leaders and the private sector, ultimately, for the abysmal conditions of life, Emile does not question the nature of globalization and international markets which structurally keep poor nations trapped. 

In spite of a few quibbles I have with it, this remains a very useful book and source for statistics on contemporary economic troubles of Haiti. The wastefulness of the national electric company, for example, was astonishing. The problem of a focus on rent-seeking instead of production and exports is explained very well by the author. Haiti's missteps with full liberalization of the economy as a disaster is not ignored at all, since it raised unemployment and contributed to the destruction of agricultural production. Surely, Haiti definitely needs to diversify trading partners, too. 

Dependence on the US, Dominican Republic, Canada, or, recently, Venezuela for oil, will not work and the nation must look to forge partnerships and trade with countries in Asia or Africa. Successful examples abound, such as Jamaica and the DR expanding economic ties to Asia, BRICS or even Senegal expanding the market for its exports. Undoubtedly, there must be a change with relations to the Haitian Diaspora, too. Remittances that don't serve towards wealth-generating activity will leave Haiti dependent on the Diaspora while contributing to Haiti's trade deficit as that money is used to purchase imports. There must be a change with regards to the role of the Diaspora in the economic affairs of the country.