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After the 2010 earthquake, many stakeholders in Haiti and across the globe worked together to increase Haitian mango harvest for export, ostensibly as a way to improve people's lives. To date, however, no study has examined how such an increase may be affecting the producers beyond statistical measures. Using archival research and fieldwork in the Artibonite Department in Haiti, this article examines the social consequences of the labour process of Haitian peasants as they pick and process mangoes for export. After describing the biogeography of the mango, I describe the different systems of labour used in mango harvesting. I argue that the growth and harvesting of Haitian mangoes for export reflects social differentiation between those who can organize labour according to monetized relations and those who incorporate the domestic unit into commodity production. Furthermore, as more production shifts to work based upon monetized relations, the balance of economic power shifts towards adult men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the way Haiti and Haitians are perceived by outsiders. Topics discussed include the fact that much public perception of Haitians is limited to the simplistic binary of poverty and resilience, the lack of narrative about the ongoing histories of colonization in Haiti, and the unreported cases of exploitation, sexual assault, and misconduct by nongovernmental organizations.

A community development project in northern Haiti involving coffee farmers grew into a co-operative community engagement with widespread participation from the local community. A different area in northern Haiti witnessed the development of women artisans learning skills and increasing economic attainment, enabling them to afford schooling for their children. The partnership with an American institution of higher education afforded both students and faculty opportunities to assist these communities to further grow as well as provide real-life social entrepreneurial experiences and research gleaned by students. A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis with stakeholder model applied to these community groups demonstrates a successful model with continuity for all stakeholders benefiting from the partnership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Francosphères is the property of Liverpool University Press / Journals and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An introduction is presented in which the guest editors discuss various reports within the issue on topics including the economic and political isolation of Haiti, the 2010 earthquake in the country and globalization.

This article affirms that emerging frameworks on social regionalism provide a normative basis through which to assess whether experimentalist transnational regulatory frameworks on trade-labour governance enhance counter-hegemonic approaches to development. First, this article briefly presents a theorization of social regionalism. Second, it turns to the specifics of the Better Factories Cambodia and Better Work preferential trading arrangements, with attention to the context and biannual reports emerging from Better Work Haiti. Its core contention is that the initiative constitutes a tentative, limited but promising example of an emergent social regionalism. It considers that a dialogic space at the international level may offer an important means through which to overcome seemingly intractable, sector-specific, transnational collective action challenges at the interface of trade and labour law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the economic viability of Haiti's Lakou System, a living arrangement created by former slaves after the Haitian Revolution which led to an independent Haiti in 1804. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has two objectives. The first one is to build an index of coincident indicators of economic activity in the Haitian economy during the identified cycles using Hardin and Pagan (2001) algorithm. The second objective is to enable policymakers to gauge with relative accuracy the probability that the Haitian economy be in expansion or recession during a specific quarter. To achieve these two objectives I use a probit analysis and a certain number of financial and fiscal indicators. The results appear promising for developing economies where data needed for policy guidance are often unavailable. Policymakers may find here an effective decision-making tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the ways in which the information technology (IT) sector has contributed to the growth of the Haitian economy. It pinpoints four areas in which the impact is most visible: (1) the employment that the growth of the IT industry generates in both the informal and formal sectors of the economy; (2) the sizable amount of taxes that it disburses to the coffers of the state; (3) the crucial communication services that it provides to the business community (e.g. banking); and (4) the remittances flows that it facilitates. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This research is intended to look for the main determining factors of FDI inward in Haiti and to assess its impacts on economic growth during the period 1980-2010. Because of the interdependence between FDI and growth, a system of two simultaneous equations has been estimated by the two-stage least squares (2SLS). The regressions display that FDI and economic growth interact positively but this interaction is weak. In fact, economic growth has no significant impact on FDI and this latter does not influence economic growth. Furthermore, market size (GDP per capita), level of human capital and exchange rate prove to be the explanatory factors of determination of FDI flows into Haiti and they have a significant positive influence on net FDI inflows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El artículo presenta una descripción personal de la situación social y económica de Haití tras el terremoto de 2010. La autora describe el florecimiento de un sector de la economía haitiana manejada por trabajadores de las misiones de ayuda humanitaria e inversionistas extranjeros, así como la vida de lujos que estos disfrutan. Se hace referencia a la importancia de las remesas de trabajadores haitianos en el extranjero para economía local.

The present paper is an excerpt, with little adaptation, from the master thesis: "Project management's contribution to international cooperation. How to make things work: ODA in Haiti" wrote under the coordination of Prof. Dr. Horst Brezinski from Technical University Freiberg Bergakademie and Prof. Dr. Eng., Sabina Irimie from University of Petrosani, while benefiting from an Erasmus study scholarship at the first mentioned institution. It presents the case of Haiti, a small country facing big challenges and enjoying plenty of international attention especially due to the recent earthquake that struck the country at the beginning of 2010. The SWOT analysis inside the paper offers a detailed view of Haiti's actual situation, identifying in the same time its problems and the variables that should be taken into consideration when designing programmes and projects targeting Haiti's development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the state failure in Haiti following the January 2010 earthquake. The negative impact of the disaster was reportedly magnified by the history of political instability and corruption in the country. One of the human rights issues facing Haiti is human trafficking. Also described is the economic condition of Haiti including its gross domestic product (GDP) and banking system.

This article analyzes the role of Haitian migration and Haitian transnational engagement in the past 20 years. Of particular interest are the various forms that this engagement has taken, its impact on the country’s economy, and the implications of Haitian migrants’ continued commitment to their home country. The article shows that dependency on Haitian migrants’ economic flows into their country has historically not been met by public policy lever-aging these flows and that under the current economic recovery period, opportunistic views aside, it is unrealistic to expect a strategy drastically different from that of the pre-earthquake period. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

2009 has been in general terms a positive year for the Haitian economy, society and polity. Most of the indicators have been good. This article assesses briefly the conjuncture throughout 2009. It reaches the conclusion that, despite the critical economic and political context that characterizes this period, some advances can be observed in terms of a consolidation in the political field in this Caribbean Nation. Two facts may well illustrate this view: first, the destitution of the Prime Minister Michele Pierre Louis, and her quick substitution by a new Prime Minister, Jean Max Bellerive. I argue that the promptness with which the authorities acted marks a new reality worth analyzing in the Haitian context. The second fact that retains our attention is the new constitutional reforms approved by the parliament, in September 2009. This event is highly significant, because of both the decision by itself, and because of the contents of the new text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contends that the combined efforts of the ministries of foreign affairs and defence in nine countries of South and Central America, the G9, can be considered a nascent but not yet developed security community. Due to a growing capacity for crisis management which includes the search for political solutions to structural conflict and to political, economic and social deficits in Haiti, the article demonstrates that South American countries are developing a novel concept for post-conflict response. Finally, in the context of democratization, Argentina's participation in peace missions generates domestic elements strongly committed to peace operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article makes an initial assessment of the monetary damages caused by the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Damages are estimated for a disaster with both 200,000 and 250,000 total dead and missing, using Haiti’s economic and demographic data. The base estimate is US$8.1bn, but for several reasons this may be a lower-bound estimate. While the results are subject to many caveats, including possibly high forecast error, the implications of such an estimate are significant. Raising such a figure will require many donors. Hence excellent coordination of funding and execution will be key to ensuring the efficient use of funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The January 2010 earthquake in Haiti was a catastrophe not only for the loss of life it caused, but also because it destroyed the very thin layer of state administrative capacity that was in place in the country. This article argues that the fragility of the Haitian state institutions was exacerbated by international strategies that promoted NGOs as substitutes for the state. These strategies have generated a vicious circle that, while solving immediate logistical problems, ended up weakening Haiti's institutions. However, the article does not call for an overarching condemnation of NGOs. Instead, it explores two cases of community-based NGOs, Partners In Health and Fonkoze, that have contributed to creating durable social capital, generated employment and provided functioning services to the communities where they operated. The article shows that organisations that are financially independent and internationally connected, embrace a needs-based approach to their activities and share a long-term commitment to the communities within which they operate can contribute to bringing about substantial improvement for people living in situations of extreme poverty. It concludes that in the aftermath of a crisis of the dimension of the January earthquake it is crucial to channel support towards organisations that show this type of commitment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haiti continues to be an extremely fragile democracy in a state with minimal capacities to perform basic state functions. Haiti depends and will continue depending on the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and the international cooperation to keep its process of political stabilization, state building, democratic strengthening and achievement of economic and social development to a sustainable level. The René Préval government, with strong international support, has achieved important improvements in security, planning and institution building. The year 2008 was marked by a deep crisis in the government, triggered by the sudden hike in international food prices, severe conflicts with the opposition and natural disasters caused by tropical storms and aggravated by environmental devastation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bilateral and multilateral donors have made poverty reduction a principal goal of their aid interventions in Haiti. At the same time donors continue to promote an outward looking development strategy based on ideological adherence to neoliberal precepts. Due to its acute dependence on aid, Haiti's government must therefore design an economic development plan which satisfies the renewed poverty reduction imperative but which is not at variance with processes of globalization and neoliberal market rules. Donors are supporting one economic development strategy which they believe fits the bill: the reactivation of the country's export processing zones (EPZs). This article considers Haiti's past experience with EPZs as well as the model's impact on the region as a whole, in order to show it is unlikely to decrease poverty in any significant way or alleviate the country's socioeconomic inequalities. The Haiti case also highlights a disturbing state of affairs: it is the governments of the poorest countries that have the least number of policy tools and options available to combat misery and destitution. The renewed poverty reduction consensus does not alter this stark reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses key elements of the imposition of economic liberalization in Haiti. Like other countries with a history of colonialism, dependence, and post-independence authoritarianism and corruption, Haiti has faced great difficulties sustaining a sovereign and democratic nation. Weak governance, declining gross domestic product (GDP), and ineffective development policies led to the imposition of structural adjustment policies, beginning in the late 1990s. Despite International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank optimism, structural adjustment has not improved Haiti's economic standing. In fact, it has challenged the core of the country's already weak political structures. Social aspirations of the largely poor Créole majority - expressed through former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his party, the Fanmi Lavalas - came into conflict with the predominantly francophone ruling class backed by Western powers. Living standards continue to decline and Haiti remains vulnerable both politically and economically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the impact of the financial crisis on Caribbean and Latin American immigrants in the U.S. Such immigrants are working less hours, earning less money, and sending less remittances to their relatives in other countries. Topics include Haiti's need for remittances from Haitian immigrants in the U.S., the impact of the recession on immigrant workers who live in Florida, and the decrease in the U.S. tourist industry due to the economic slowdown. Also discussed is the political instability in Haiti.