Filed under: Haiti, International Development | Tags: Corruption, Haiti, Inter-American Development Bank, Investment, Port-au-Prince, Poverty, Transparency International, United Nations
According to the Times, no new agreements were reached at Haiti’s recent investment conference. Nevertheless, the simple fact that we are talking about an investment conference, and not a donor conference, is a huge step in the right direction. And even if no landmark deal was conceived, it is significant that investors from all over the world decided to board a plane destined for Port-au-Prince.
Haiti has an image problem. It’s always linked to its unenviable position as “poorest country in the hemisphere,” it’s always portrayed as chaotic, unstable, corrupt, hopeless. Even with stunning natural beauty, Haiti can’t attract tourists for the life of her – save for the UN peacekeepers that fill her beaches and nightclubs (and for this recent piece of good news). And for those potential investors listening to these damning reports, sitting in comfortable offices in New York, Miami, Paris, Montreal, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Taipei, or Seoul, without an in-person visit, it’s unlikely any investment would head Haiti’s way.
When I worked in the Dominican Republic, Haiti was portrayed as the closest thing to hell on earth. And I got this same story from nearly everyone I met. When I was in the US, media accounts of Haiti – when given a few seconds of airtime – were not all that different. These accounts scare people away – tourists as much as investors. But they can be overcome with a one-way ticket on American Airlines. Seeing Haiti, experiencing Haiti, makes a hell of a difference.
As stated by the President of the Inter-American Development Bank, which sponsored the conference, reputations aren’t changed overnight – be it for a person or a nation. But by showing up and seeing the potential for investment, Haiti’s image, and therefore future, took an important step in the right direction.
It’s now up to the state to protect investors from the corruption and “red-tape” that scares away investment. Haiti’s position as one of the world’s most corrupt states won’t make it easy to secure the trust and capital of investors, but hopefully with the help of the UN and IDB, they can be convinced of the real investment possibilities to be found in Haiti.
Filed under: International Development | Tags: Corruption, Economic Inequality, Economics, Haiti, Oligarchy, Small Nation-States
IF a sizeable market is required to achieve economies of scale, is it therefore less likely that a small nation could provide sufficient incentive for multiple economic interests to invest heavily in producing the same product? And if not, does this not incline the market toward fewer producers and…oligarchy?
This is something I began pondering while reading a riveting, and yes I mean riveting, debate on development in dangerous places. See here.
Much of the world, and Central America and the Caribbean in particular, have long been characterized by oligopolistic markets. Here in Haiti I may be witnessing one of the more serious cases, but we’ve all heard about how Country A is run by the notorious twelve families, or Country B by the untouchable seven families.
There is ample literature on the question of how such a remarkable concentration of wealth could come about, ranging from critiques of corruption to investigations into the type of agricultural activity that proceeded industrialization, but maybe things are more simple than that. Maybe the culprit has been staring us right in the face all along: small countries encourage economic oligarchies.
Filed under: International Development
Here’s a thought on the question, should development agencies be flying in luxury? I couldn’t say it any better myself, so I won’t even try.
